Saturday, March 3, 2012

New (to me) Bike

I've been drooling over road and tri bike porn for a while.  But today I took the plunge.  It was pretty easy as a guy in my tri club put on the list serve that he was selling his Cannondale.  Apparently, he bought it from the club VP a year ago, but it really was too small for him and he was trying to decide if he really wanted to get into road biking (had been a mountain bike guy).  Apparently, its first owner was more my size so this all worked out for me.  While it may not be the end all-be all, it was well within my budget leaving me plenty of room for everything else.  And I liked that it was blue.





You can see he had the seat post jacked all the way up and the handle bars twisted up so I'll have to play with fit once Mr. Allen Wrench (aka my husband) comes home.  I will probably have to spring for a proper fit by a trained pro at a later date.  I also have absolutely no gear to address potential flats so I need to make a minor investment there (not so much of a worry on my knobby mountain bike tires when I mostly go on roads).  I also need the appropriate footwear for these:
Yep, it is time to enter the world of "clipping in" with hopefully minimal face planting.  I may splurge on a new helmet too given I am sure my current helmet is older than both of my children.  Then there is the need to find a very reasonable trainer to put it on when weather isn't cooperative.  And, of course, a carrier for my car so I don't have to listen to the husband grumble when I want to take the truck to haul it around.  But once I get everything all figured out, I'm looking forward to time on this:

YAY!

10 comments:

  1. Yay! That's super exciting and that bike looks great! A few things - yes, get a bike fit. Will make you very happy to not hurt. Second, you will fall a few times clipping in and out. It happens to all of us. Practice near the grass. And third... invest in a new helmet! Your old one might not meet standard guidelines and it's by far the MOST important piece of equipment!

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  2. A proper fit is not expensive, and worth every penny. Better to get it done first, so you love the bike from the start. And get the helmet. Those are so cheap for peace of mind. A real one, not the dorky "spermoid" aero helmets. Depending on what you drive, it might fit in the back with the front wheel popped off. I can get my big bike in the back of a Honda Accord sedan.

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  3. Always exciting to get a new toy! Like Colleen and Keith says... "get a helmet". Get a good one though. Your head is worth it. Also, try to find one with good air circulation. Can't wait to read your bike posts.

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  4. Boom, there it is....looks awesome!

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  5. YAY!!!!

    So funny...your list of things you need at the end there reminded me of that kids story..."If you give a mouse a cookie" :)

    Enjoy your beautiful new bike!

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  6. ditto to the above :) Congrats, it is very exciting getting a new bike!! Wishing you many, many happy miles together!!

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  7. That is great! Congrats! Check out ebay for some of the other gear you want. You might be able to find some great deals there!

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  8. Very cool! I bought my road bike used, too. I just started riding clipless this past spring, and it's not nearly as scary as I made it out to be.

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  9. New bikes are always fun! Congrats!

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