it's a girl!
it’s a girl!
A few weeks ago, I posted about my love affair with the bicycle. I was trying to decide whether I needed a new road bike or a triathlon bike, based on the types of rides and places I was going to be cycling this year. My good friend Joe took me out to Bonzai Sports, where I got the chance to drool over the shiny gorgeous triathlon bikes. Two of the bikes I had been considering based on my online research were there (Cervelo P2 and Felt B14), and boy, did I want to bring one home. I had a very informative talk with one of their sales guys, who was completely awesome and didn’t make fun of me for not really knowing a lot about bikes, but based on our conversation, I started thinking that I would probably want to upgrade my road bike first and then add the triathlon bike later if I decided I still wanted it. But even though I am not buying a bike from them right now, I’d go back there in a heartbeat - and probably will, for other triathlon gear - because they were super studs.
Cervelo P2
Felt B14
The next day I headed over to Spokes, which I’ve raved about many times here in the past because they are sparkly purple kinds of awesome. There are a few people there in particular that I’ve worked with multiple times, and those guys deserve major props for not laughing while showing me where the brakes are located, getting me fit and over my fear of clipless pedals and helping me with my numb-for-days-crotch problems. I’ve also been stalking road bikes online, and as I love my Specialized, was hoping to stay with that line - why change what works? Specialized has a few different models of road bike, and my “probably” bike was the Ruby and my “in your dreams mr. credit card” bike was the Amira. Spokes let me know from their website that they were having lots of sales on 2010 models, so I headed over. And there, on the rack, was a 2010 Specialized Amira Comp, marked WAYYYYY down from “ridiculous” to “just a tiny bit out of my price range.” Hey, when the universe throws a brick at you, you catch it before it hits you in the face, right? But the bike wasn’t in my size.
I am too big. Sad faces.
I rode it anyway, and it was brilliant and smooth and now I understand why people spend a ridiculous amount of money on bikes. Whew. And I thought about buying it and they wouldn’t let me because it was the wrong size but then - THEN - the store manager happened to wander by and said, “Hmm, I wonder if there is one in the Specialized warehouse?” and my little heart went pitter-pat.
You guys should know well enough how my life works by now to know that of course there was one, available only in my size, and he could order it. But that means I have to make the big money decision right now instead of in April when I was kinda sorta financially planning for it to be. So he wrote everything down and I told him I wanted to think about it for 24 hours. We came home and talked everything over. The big question really was, was I planning on buying a new bike in the next 6 months? Well, yes. Then I should go ahead and buy this one because I’m getting SO much more for my money than I will 2 months from now. The difference between the 2010 Amira and the 2011 is basically color, so I wasn’t really missing out on anything, and hell, a bike that was amazing last October is still going to be an amazing bike for me, for years. I hemmed and hawed and made lists and talked to myself out loud. And about 2 hours later we headed back over, and of course they all cracked up when I came walking back in. Bike, ordered. Check. My poor, poor credit card.
On Friday they called me and told me that it was in and built. And I was trying to wait until my credit card rolled over so I’d take the second half of the hit in a different month, but when Sunday woke up all sunny and warm I just couldn’t wait any longer. We went over and they moved my pedals for me and got me measured and fit. And it is beautiful and shiny and perfect, and while my Dolce was a sweet ride for me, this is like letting Jennifer Aniston work out on the yoga mat next to me. Just look the other way, baby, it’ll be all right.
Getting fit. That guy really wishes I had shaved my legs since December.
My Dolce is in the background, behind my arms. It is making a frowny face.
I'm on it backwards because I was putting my saddlebag on.
But check out how huge my head is!
Not to mention, my tongue.
By the time we were done with everything, I didn’t actually have time to ride outside before the sun went down. Plus, I mean, it’s gritty and sandy and muddy out right now, and the thought of getting my shiny new perfect baby all dirty made me sad. That only lasted until yesterday afternoon, when I got out for a 30+ mile ride that made me happy again to be alive. It also made me realize that riding 12 miles at a time while watching Harry Potter movies is not exactly doing a lot to keep up my cycling fitness, especially on hills. I rode up to Haines Point and did a gentle 70-minute tempo that got more and more difficult as my legs got tired and the wind kicked up a bitch kitty. But I love it, you guys, I rode for almost 2 hours and my shoulder, my wrists, my butt, none of that ached like it did with my first bike when I first got it. This carbon stuff is the real deal.
So the Dolce is going in the trainer, for now, and I’ll probably sell it when spring rolls around, because it IS a great bike in fantastic condition that has been treated really well and someone should be out there riding it and loving it like I did. And I don’t want it to sit in the basement and be sad because, sweet Dolce babes, I’m moving on.
For those of you that like bike porn (click for super big versions):
Handlebars and where my Gu chomps live.
Booter-carrier.
Yes, I bought new water bottle cages to match BUT they are not $2384 carbon cages thankyouverymuch.
Gorgeous girl.