Gearing Up - Part IV

The preparation continues even if the training rides are on hold until I fully heal. I've mapped out rides, added a couple of items to my wish list, and done more reading about the ride and on cycling in general. But I'm getting antsy to climb back on my bike and ride again. So antsy that I have begun thinking about the lost days and how those may affect the strides I made during the first month. I've said before, and will repeat it here - with the ride so far off there is no worry that putting off training a few weeks now will affect it. That said, one thing it will affect are the small gains I've made in endurance, strength and stamina. Right now, the thought of climbing a hill on the beast of a bike I have is a little disheartening.

I've been shopping around for a new bike because everyone has recommended it - strongly recommended. With a decent road bike, I can cut my time in the saddle down significantly during long rides - experienced riders have said I could take a hundred mile ride down from 8 hours to 6.5 hours. That's some incentive, eh?

A few weeks ago, I found the bike I wanted. Well, almost found it. I found the model I wanted but my bike shop didn't have it in stock in the color I wanted. It was a Cannondale CAAD10 - the lightest aluminum bike on the market - as light, or lighter, than carbon fiber bikes costing $1,000 more. This is what they had in stock:

Definitely a nice looking bike but bright green and blue and white just don't work for me. I wanted the it the one other available color:

So I went to Cannondale's site, found all authorized dealers in Vegas, and came up empty handed. There were no matte-black CAAD10's left in town and the factory had completed production so ordering one wasn't an option. I looked in nearby cities and found one in Los Angeles. So take a five-hour drive, spend a weekend near the beach, buy a bike and drive back. Win-win.

But, like I said, I've been getting antsy so I checked out some other bike shops that don't sell Cannondale thinking maybe I would find a different brand that I really liked. There were a few in my price point and I set out to see what I could find. There were three stores I planned on visiting all in different areas of town so it was going to be a half-day adventure.

The first store I went to was sold out of the model I saw on their website. Disappointing. Even more, they didn't really have anything else I was interested in (or could afford). Time to move on to the next shop.

This shop was one of those cramped little outlets in a strip mall. They had hundreds of bikes crammed in there. I looked for the one I saw on their website then over in the furthest corner, I saw a couple of black CAAD10's! Seriously. But now I needed to know... did they have the right size? I wandered back to that corner, looked at the two they had - fully prepared to be disappointed. The first I looked at was a 58cm. Not my size. I'm a 56. Looked over at the next one and - BOOM! - there it was! My bike!

Without even thinking, I pulled out my credit card (and trust me, that is something i NEVER do without thinking!). Without flinching I signed the receipt (again, trust me, I almost always flinch when I spend that much). But I didn't have my pedals or shoes so I had to make a trip home for those in order to get the bike fitted. A thirty minute drive to my house, thirty minutes back to the shop, 30 minutes for the fitting, and I was done.

What shall I name it?

I'm now the proud owner of a road bike. I can't ride it yet. And you know I really want to hop on it. Oh, maybe just a quick spin. I couldn't resist. I took it out for a quick 1.5 mile ride just to welcome it as my partner on this journey. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time in that saddle in the future!