Jump to content

smudge

Members ★
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    15,242

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    11

  • Country

    United States

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by smudge

  1. smudge

    906 Polar Roll 2016

    By smudge,

    This is really a great event. They work hard on the trails, they have the support of the community, they have a nice expo at the finish line, and they have a good after-party with a ton of give-aways (fat bike fenders, Marge Lite wheels, cranksets). I just wish I had better snow skills.
    The weather got too warm on Friday for this Saturday event. The snow turned crystally, sugary. The roads were thick with glare ice. But the event went on, and that's good.
    I went up to Marquette the evening before the event so I didn't have to drive on icy roads to get there. It was good to get there and have my packet. I installed my GoPro and my number plate on the bike that night. The next morning I saw on FB they were suggesting air pressures of 3-4 psi. I went with 4.5.

    It was neat to see all the trucks and some cars coming in with ONLY fat bikes!


    According to the FB page, 171 fat bikes started the 15 mile ride. It took a few moments for us in the back to actually start moving. With that many bikes riding on mashed potato snow, it was tough even getting started. People were falling off left and right. I was actually doing fairly well, but it got too slow for me to keep my balance. I put a foot down a couple times; the third time I let the people behind me go past. Wrong. Just keep going. 
    We had to use a road for a bit to get from the starting line to the single track, and the road was glare ice. I feel ok on ice, but I stayed on the sides like they told us to. A little slushy, but ok. I realized I forgot to get Map My Ride going, so I stopped for that. I was standing on some gravel that was peaking through some thawed ice on the side of a hill. I decided to hike to the top of the hill, but I noticed people actually pedaling behind me. I stepped into the road and onto the ice to let them pass. My feet were not moving, but I was sliding sideways down the icy hill! I think I slid like that at least 10 feet like that. Doesn't sound like much; but when you're holding onto a fat bike and sliding uncontrollably, it's quite unnerving. A few moments later I had to do it again. More sliding. Ugh! Then I got to ride again on the road for a bit. 
    Icy road
    The single track was really hard for me to ride. That was really sad because I know it was gorgeous just a few days prior to that weekend. I have been hearing many other people were having a really tough time on this trail, but at the time it seemed like I was the only idiot who couldn't keep rubber side down.
    Kinda rolling along
    I should have gone lower with my tire pressure. The trail ended up with a fairly deep rut running down the middle of it, and I kept getting hung up in it. You can kinda see the rut in this pic, but mostly I took it to show how a lot of the trail weaved through the trees. That's really a neat idea and quite pretty; but as you are rolling and start falling, those trees come up to your face pretty damned fast. I think 4 or 5 times I reached out a hand as I was falling to stop myself from slamming into a tree.

    There was one lady who was having almost as hard a time as I was, and we kinda rode together for a while. She eventually got her shit together and left me in the dust. Maybe she aired down and got better traction? I don't know. I hope she got going ok. But here she is, and here is how pitiful my performance was. (In a little bit of my defense, this is a very switchbacky stretch of trail called FreakNnature. I'm sure it's a hoot for those who know how to handle it; I am horrible at it.)
    Mostly falling
    I found this guy's video of the short route. About 14:45 in he slips and falls on the icy road, around 38 he's on FreakNnature, about 54:30 he gets to the area of the pic above, and about 1 hour and 9 minutes in, he gets farther than I did. I like that his posted comment states "14 miles of stupid." Ha!
    Another racer's perspective.
    Ya, I did horribly. I had practiced and trained for the three weeks between the IronLine and this Polar Roll, but you'd never know. I know that's not a lot of time, but it wasn't my first day on a bike even though it felt like it. I gave out about 7 miles into the 15 miles. I wasn't super tired, but I was very discouraged. I was so frustrated, I cried. Just a little though. 
    The nice lady with the red van hauled my bike and me back to my truck. I changed my jacket to a little bit warmer one, drove to the finish line, and checked out the expo for a bit. I was soaking wet; every footstep felt like my toes were stepping into puddles of water. I went into the warming tent and had a cup of post-ride stew.

    I was shivering while I was eating it. But I still wanted to look around a bit.

    I decided I needed dry clothes, so I cut it short. I headed over to the YMCA and took a shower. Just getting into the locker room warmed me up. My clothes were so wet, I had to peel them off. The chatty little girls showering after pool time with their moms made me smile. And the dry clothes made me feel much better. I headed over to Border Grill (a major sponsor of the Polar Roll event) and got some late lunch. I hung out in Marquette for a couple hours waiting for the post-race party. I got there, and there were free little plates of Border Grill food. Yay! And there was BlackRocks Brewery beers. I dove into a 51k IPA. OMG, did that beer go down well! I saw two guys who put on the IronLine race three weeks earlier and talked to them a bit. They each won swag (Marge Lite rims and a crankset!), and I was happy for them. I hung out for about an hour and then headed home. I promised myself I didn't have to put stuff away, but I did. I threw my clothes into the wash, unpacked everything, patted my bike and said, "Good ride," hung up my now clean clothes, and went to bed. The next morning I counted my bruises. It took a couple days to find them all, and there were many. My chiropractor appointment Monday was a little dicey... Ouch! Not there! Ok, that's fine. Ouch! Not there! Ha!! 
    I checked out the FB page and realized I didn't do as horribly as I thought.
    Polar Roll FB
    Today I talked to the LBS owner, and he said the people he knew who rode were all bruised up too. 
    It was truly a test of a rider's mettle. One guy commented it was a very humbling ride. The event was put on very well, but Mother Nature sure had her say. And Smudge has her say: my fat bike is for playing, and there will be no more fat bike events for me. I enjoy getting outdoors, but these events were not fun for me. Not my cup of tea, I guess. Playing with my fat bike is fun. Running with cars on my "city bike" in New York is fun. Rolling all over the countryside on my Roubaix is fun. Winter fat bike events just aren't for me.
    But I'm still glad I did it.
     
  2. smudge
    It's good to do some surfin' on the interweb before you head out to your destination. That is how I stumbled upon this nifty event. It's a flea market for cyclists, and it was great! I rode there on my bike. I had purchased some panniers to go with my rack just cuz I had the rack; I was REALLY glad I decided to take them this day!
    I got there a little early upon advice the day before from the mechanics at Bicycle Roots. The place was busy already! I locked up my bike, and off I went.

     I ended up buying the first thing I saw, but it was too cute to pass up. On the back it says, "Enjoy the Buzz." Being a carbon roadie, I loved that!

    I've been wondering how I can store Bad Ass (the fat bike). I saw this and decided my husband will be assembling one for me with one wide slot!

    I bought a couple cute bracelets and some plastic water bottle cages ($2 each!). Pretty sure I bought more stuff; just can't think of it right now. I had been struggling with how to carry my 4.5# New York lock. I saw a guy with a U-lock tucked in his back pocket. Cute, but I have a bigger lock. Then it dawned on me; I think I've seen this, so I'll try it. It worked great!

    Yup. Stick it through a belt! It's best to keep it on your left side; it won't knock into your seat when you put your left foot down to stop and won't catch on the seat when trying to get back on. Those bad things happen when the lock is on your right butt cheek!
    Fun stuff:

    Yes, in the bottom right of that last pic there is a plastic "hobby horse" cut in half and mounted on a bike. It was disturbing. I didn't mean to include it in the pic. If I had known I was going to get the front half in, I would have included the whole thing. Still, disturbing.
    It was time to eat, and I had found a place called Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. I got myself over there, learned a new way to lock up my bike (saw another person's bike), and went in. I had a nice lunch and found out Ithica Brewing's Flower Power IPA is good! Finally a piney IPA! 

    I did a little more riding around and then headed home. It was a great day!

     
  3. smudge
    First I want to say to all the Negative Nellies about this ride, STUFF It! This is a nice EVENT. The volunteers are nice, the people riding are there to enjoy the day, and it's a good time. If you want to kill it and pound out some miles, the Gran Fondo is next weekend!  Ya, it was a nice event. Don't let any Negative Nellies dissuade you from doing this ride if you'd like to do it. It's nice.  Now, .....
    I got to the subway stop early and another guy with a cycle showed up. The train came, and it was packed! The other cyclist started running to find a spot. I followed like a lost puppy dog! He got on. I had to wait for the next train. Great, more stress! Ended up just fine. I got to the staging area good and early. I was smart; I got there early to be at the start of my wave. It was chilly that morning. The poor young man in black on the bottom left was visibly shaking he was so chilly. If I were a little taller, this pic would be much more impressive; you'd actually be able to see the thousands of cyclists behind us! 

    Not too far down the road was Radio City Music Hall. I have seen many ride videos, and for some reason I always thought it was super cool that they were riding past this spot. I had to stop for a selfie. And I saw a welcome to the tour riders on the marquee! Nice!

    The riding was actually pretty smooth! Even with that many people and a Yooper, it really was good riding. I could easily pass people when I wanted, but I could also easily cruise along if I wanted. Of course with that many people, there were going to be some bottlenecks. Like at the Queensboro Bridge.

    Getting out of Astoria Park was a little time consuming too. Meh, it was a gorgeous day. It was fine.

    Then I bit it somewhere in Queens. Smooth... I was approaching a group that had stopped. I knew I was in a little tougher gear, so I wanted to sneak in a quick shift before I actually stopped. I heard the shift complete a millisecond before I stopped. Oh good. Oh wait... I'm toppling over. Clip out, clip out! I can't! Pull your hand back in! Don't break a clavicle trying to catch yourself!!! oof! Smooth. I heard a guy behind me, "You ok? Darned clipless pedals." heh, heh.. ah ya. Poor bike. Another hit on this trip! I quickly pounded the seat back to forward, and all was well. I had scuffs on my left knee, wrist, elbow, and pinky. A day later I discovered a tender bruise on my right upper arm. I think it smacked my right handlebar end when I fell. Good news: no broken bones. Bad news: not even any blood! 

    All the talk about the Verrazano Bridge had me worried about the gradual climb. Psht! It wasn't bad at all! A couple miles prior to it was a rather steep climb that got my attention, but the bridge itself was simply a scenic spin. Thank goodness!

    The finish party had a park full of people. Of course exiting the park was a walk-your-bike event again. But that was to be expected.

    We rode to the Staten Island Ferry area for a ride back to Manhattan. While we waited, TD Bank (the primary sponsor) tossed popsicles into the crowd. Ha! I wanted one just to say I got one; but it was green with other colors inside and just smelled too sweet. I passed. 
    I almost bit it again entering the ferry. I thought for sure I'd end up getting super close to getting on only to be told it was full. I was determined to get on THIS ferry! (I didn't know they can hold 4-6000 people depending on the class of ferry) I saw most people going to the sides of the ferry with their bikes. I also saw a few guys tossing their bike onto their shoulders and going up the stairs in front of us. I figured there were fewer people going up, so I'd have a better chance of getting on. I thought, "I can carry my bike upstairs!" so I went for it! Tossed my bike onto my shoulder, took a step, and almost landed on my face; I hadn't seen the 8" long x 2" high ramp going into the ferry. I saved it, and ran up the steps. whew! As I sat there, the ferry meandered toward The City. I saw this container ship pass by. I bitterly thought, "Hmm, I wonder how many fat bikes are on THAT ship?!" Ha! Ya, just being sassy.

    I made it back to the apartment. A couple doors down before I got here, a lady in and SUV rolled down her window and gave me a thumb's up as I walked the last few steps to the brownstone. Thanks!
    I didn't know my way around real well yet, but I was starving. I settled and ordered dinner from Applebees, walked to pick it up, and walked back. I dove into that steak! Not that the 40+ miles were at all grueling; I just hadn't had much hearty food that day! I gobbled that steak right down!
    The Five Boro Tour is a nice event. Yes, there are 32,000 people, so there will be times of standing around waiting. But you are there for the event. Get in that mindset, and it really is a great, unique event.
     
     
  4. smudge
    Well, I got to the airport dark and early (4:30 am or so), and both flights went well. The take-off of the first flight was funny. I remember loving the rush of take-off. However, this one had me thinking, "Oh shit! We're off the ground! Down! Down! Must go down!" Not surprisingly, all went well on both flights. Until I got to the airtrain/subway area. Totally noobed it trying to roll 2 suitcases through the turnstile, and got stuck. Luckily, a sympathetic attendant came over and helped me. Smooth, smudge.
    Next day I unboxed my bike that I packaged up myself. It looked good! Then I tried to put the front wheel on. It wouldn't go! I knew the fork was messed up somehow, but I wasn't sure to what extent. The guys (Elvis in particular) at Fulton Bikes had me fixed up in no time. Life savers! Later that afternoon I took the subway into The City to attend the bike expo. Tour riders had to pick up their packets at this expo. I figured Friday would be a better, less crowded day than Saturday. Worked out great! I practiced great restraint, and only bought a few goodies. I mean, seriously; you cannot set smudge loose in a place like that and expect her to walk away with only the packet!
             
    Next day I took the subway as a dry run to find where I was to gather up for our wave's start. Found it pretty easily! Good, that's what I need!
     
  5. smudge

    OK. I'm Scared.

    By smudge,

    Not gonna lie. I am totally scared right now about my trip to NYC. Three more days at home, then it's a very early start Thursday morning. I don't know. Hard to express. Mostly I hope I can get from point A, The Yoop, to point B, my rental in Brooklyn. Crazy thing is I knew all the stuff I needed to pack for my bike; that was easy. Getting me ready....makes it real. Whose bright idea was this anyway??
  6. smudge

    Bike Has Shipped!

    By smudge,

    Well, my Sirrus is on its way to Brooklyn. That's where I'll be staying while participating in the Five Boro Tour. I used the box Bad Ass was shipped in. For a bit I thought the box was going to be too big considering a fat bike came in it, and now a fitness bike was going in. Nope, it ended up working just right. I placed the panniers/saddle bags over the rear tire, and that worked great to stabilize the bike from flopping around in the box. Of course in the panniers are my shoes, water bottle, Kryptonite u-lock, tools, all kinds of crap! But ya, it worked out great.
    I used shipbikes.com, and I think that will be a good thing. You enter your box's dimensions and weight, address, and how much insurance you want. Pay the amount, print out your label, and take the box to a Fed-Ex shipping center. Or for a couple extra dollars you can have it picked up at home. My bike and a ton of stuff (ok, it weighed 55 pounds) is going to Brooklyn for $60. You can't beat that with a stick. Only problem is, it's going to get there 2 days before I do! Whoops. Sorry people i'll be renting from; didn't mean to do that. I'll let you know after all is said and done what I think of shipbikes.com. So far so good. (of course it works with Fed-Ex, so they will get credit/blame for the arrival condition of the bike and box..)


  7. smudge
    I've really been enjoying riding the fat bike. I thought I would only like it in snow, but I like it without snow too. Maybe even better? Hmm..
    I've gone a couple times to the Days River Trail and had a blast. I'd really like to go again this weekend, but I'm not gonna tempt fate. I am 1 week away from the Five Boro Tour, so I don't want to risk a broken arm, collar bone, or anything else that may keep me from the Tour. Damn.


  8. smudge
    Whew! This fat bike thing is a workout! Especially early in the season. Well, also because the differing terrain demands more work from the engine than the point and shoot of a road bike. 
    I ended up going out onto the bay. It was going pretty well; there was only about 1 1/2" of crust to break through, and I kept plowing through. Not saying much to a regular fat biker, but that's progress for me! I've learned to use the easier spinning gears. I found out that works great. As I was riding, I was heading toward the water treatment plant. I made sure to give it a wide berth since I know the spots on the bay that break up early ARE breaking up. I didn't feel like going for a swim. I couldn't remember exactly what was around the bend where the treatment plant is, so I stopped to think it over. And to catch my breath. As I was standing there, I heard a crack and what sounded like shifting underneath me. ACK! The ice!! I spun my bike around and pedaled out of there much faster than the trip TO that spot! I'm sure I was fine, but I wasn't going to press my luck. I really wanted a pic of Bad Ass on the bay; but I ran like a rabbit, so no pic.
    I then went through "the fields." Scrubby weeds and sand. I went down a short, steep, sandy hill; and it went well. I decided to go out to the Kipling Boat Launch to go out on the bay in another spot. I went over to the boat launch to access the ice. Oh dear; I thought the launch ramp was concrete, but it's crushed #3 rock. Ok, you can do this. It took me a couple minutes to muster up the courage, but I did it! Getting onto the ice, I heard a pretty hearty crunch. I thought I had gone through, but I just kept on going. Whew! I wanted to head over the the built up sand bar for a couple pics. (the vegetation/trees have built it up, and the gulls have made it home) The pedaling was decent on this area of the bay too, but there were no scary ice noises. The gulls were upset that I went over there and bothered them. But I liked seeing them against the pristine blue sky. You can see them in the pic.

    The ride back into town was a little tough. I was getting tired, and I was riding into a hearty head wind. I really need to put money in my jacket pocket and/or get a bag for the bike for a little cash stash. I really wanted a Gatorade mid ride but had no dinero. All in all a good ride. I'm feeling much better about riding this bike. There's hope for my dirt/ice/grass skills!
  9. smudge

    Need Road Work NOW!

    By smudge,

    This weather has GOT to start warming up. Temp is -1 this morning. I know it's only March, but I really gotta get out on my road bikes and get some real miles under me. I've got the TD Five Boro Bike Tour event (http://www.bike.nyc/events/td-five-boro-bike-tour/)coming up in just over a month, and I've got NO road miles under me since probably last November. I've been on the rollers, but my brain cannot make me stay on them to put on real miles. I need to get out on the road. Sure, I've been out on the fat bike a few times, but that was just to play around and find out I need to learn how to ride the damned thing. 
    The Five Boro Tour isn't a race or gran fondo, but it WILL be a day of probably about 50 miles. The route is 40 miles with an additional 5 miles after the finish line to get to the Staten Island Ferry to get back to Manhattan. I'm sure there will be additional miles somewhere to make the total 50 miles. That will be a lot for me this early in my season. I mean, I'm a Yooper! It's cold this time of year! But I need to suck it up and start getting dressed for the weather and pound that pavement. Time is running out.
  10. smudge

    He Hate Me

    By smudge,

    Saturday, March 14. Got my fat bike from UPS yesterday and assembled it last night. Whoo hoo!
    Ya know, with my road bike I clip in, push off, and away I go. These damned fat bikes with their stupid tiny small chainrings (and everyone’s propensity to LEAVE the bike in the small chainring!) really makes it tough for me to start out on these bikes. I will have to learn to leave Bad Ass (this bike’s name; not necessarily a compliment) in the larger chainring for take-off. It was a little sloppy, but my first couple blocks of riding went well. Taking off in the small chainring makes the pedals just spin ridiculously fast with no power; how the heck do you spin like crazy and not move??!! Ugh. Then, I have a new type of shifting to get used to. This bike has SRAM, and I'm a Shimano girl. Luckily I asked Jon about it. He realized all the shifting on both sides is all thumb, no trigger finger. Jon was really nice about my bike. He said it was bad-ass! Aww, thanks! (Jon owns The Beaten Path, a disc golf and used bike shop. He's my disc brake guy)
    I only had pavement to ride on and was looking for some snow. I was really frustrated with the lack of good snow riding. Probably a good thing since I found out I am not good at it. Not. At all.
    I rode to the boardwalk and found a bunch of melty, mashed potato type drifts crossing the boardwalk. I was going to push my bike over them, but then I decided to try to ride over one. I backed up the bike for a better approach to the drift and tried to be aggressive to get over this one. It didn’t go well. Luckly I saved my Fail and did not roll off the boardwalk. My girl bits were quite relieved since they probably would have received the hardest hit.
    I got tired of walking my bike over the snow drifts along the boardwalk and decided to go across the campground. Yes, I ended up walking a good portion of the boardwalk. To get across the grass at the campground, I had to go through a little bit of the same type of snow. It didn't look too bad since it wasn't built up into drifts like on the boardwalk. I decided to pedal more aggressively and be more confident and purposeful while pedaling through the mashed potatoes. Unfortunately the mashed potatoes and Bad Ass (my bike) had a different plan for me. I started smushin’ through and suddenly the bike came to an abrupt stop! My body kept going forward a bit, but then rocked back after the stop. My left foot was at the top of the pedal stroke and couldn’t go forward; so it swooped back and down under no resistance (as backward pedaling on a non-fixie does). All my weight was on my left foot; so when it went down, so did my butt… right onto the long, nose portion of my seat. The girl bits didn’t get smacked, but the back half did. I smacked my coccyx. Hard. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such intense, jarring pain. I thought I was going to puke. No exaggeration. I breathed real hard for a few moments. I didn’t want to cry, and I really didn’t want to puke. But I almost did both.
    After a few moments, I got off the bike (now you know why I call it Bad Ass). I wasn’t really thinking straight yet, but it eventually dawned on me that the damned thing was stuck/propped up on the pedal; it was just standing in the snow! Well, that kinda explains part of what happened.

    That was it. I was done. I very, very slowly pedaled home. I whimpered to Scott about it. Bad Ass is on a time out. And I asked Scott to drive me to Holiday gas station so I could get an I’m-feeling-sorry-for-myself-hot dog for lunch. I told him I would just stand in the back of the truck; I didn’t want to sit to get there or home. I was feeling SO sorry for myself, I also got Cheetos, a fountain, and Grandma’s oatmeal and raisin cookie. Scott must have started feeling sorry for me too; he held open the door at Holiday on our way out and held the truck door until I got in and situated. Awwwww…

    That was 4 hours ago. And my coccyx still hurts. Stupid bike.
  11. smudge

    Punk'd by a Cat

    By smudge,

    Our cats wanted to go outside for a bit after I got home from work. I get home around 7:30 pm. The temp was fine, and the deck and part of the back sidewalk needed to be shoveled from the 3" of snow we received while I was at work.  It was dark; but I had the deck lights on, so it was all good for keeping an eye on the cats. Hammer (our big, male, orange tabby) went under the deck, and Aimee (my gray and white female) sat on the top step. I heard Hammer start making his "this is MY territory!" mewing. Great. Gray and White cat is under the deck, and Hammer found him. He's a neighborhood cat who comes around at night. I said, "Be nice. No fighting." There was no fighting. In fact I never saw Gray and White cat leave. After a bit, both our cats decided to go back in the house. Weather was good, so I kept shoveling. As I was coming back in the house, I heard the plow go by the front. I figured I'd check out the damage, see how much snow they threw into the driveway. It wasn't bad, but there was a spot on the sidewalk where they had flipped up a bunch of snow from the plow. I decided to clean that up since it was on the sidewalk. And i was hoping the cats would come out for more fresh air. I saw Hammer coming out the garage door when I was done with the sidewalk, so I decided to clean up the driveway to give him time outside. (Our cats are not allowed to roam the neighborhood on their own) I kept an eye on him cuz he started moving toward the neighbor's house. I thought, "Oh great. Gray and White cat is over there now." I kept going back and forth scraping snow and keeping an eye on Hammer. After a bit, I saw a cat walking away from us a ways down the sidewalk. Gray and White cat! I decided to be nice and talk to him. He stopped. He was swishin' his tail like he liked me talking to him. I thought, "I'm a cat whisperer! He likes how I'm talking to him!" I noticed he looked small. I was sad thinking he really had spent all these cold days outside and had lost a lot of weight. I kept being casual and kept shoveling. Finally, I stuck the shovel into the snow so I could get closer. I was talking to him and was about to start walking toward him. Then, he started walking toward me! I looked again at how small he was. Then I noticed he seemed to have way more white than Gray and White cat has. WTFront door?? Aimee!!!! "You get back over here!" By then she was sassily jogging past me and toward the garage door, sassy tail swishin'! Totally punk'd by my own cat. sigh...
  12. smudge
    I wanted to start a little blog to share an upcoming trip. That way, I wouldn't have to send a bunch of emails to share my adventure with family. I thought a blog would be a good way to share stories and pics. Then I realized I don't know how to do a blog! Just like everything else, I decided I need to practice a bit. I really don't have a lot to say right now, so this is sort of awkward. Well, this is a blog about my cycling hobby; so I might as well introduce you to the cast of characters!
    First is my Roubaix. I absolutely love this bike! Love, love, love!! Bicycling magazine was making such a big deal of this bike for a few years, that I absolutely had to have one... even though I had never ridden one! I tried a Specialized Ruby on a decent ride, but it did not speak to me. My local Specialized dealer was offering a killer deal on the bike (it was a previous year bike brand new), but I passed. I had been riding a Specialized Sirrus for a few years, and maybe I wasn't ready for the road bike geometry? I don't know. I just know I wasn't lovin' the Ruby. All this makes my insistence on ordering the Roubaix that much more bizarre. It was only the next summer or so that I decided I needed to have one. I ordered it. I wasn't sure about a white bike, so I was a little concerned when I saw it. I mean, you gotta love the bike if you expect yourself to ride it! I decided since I ordered it, I need to keep it. I didn't even know how to use the Shimano 105 shifters! The shop owner adjusted the seat height for me and showed me how to shift (while on a trainer). After that, I was on my own. The ride home from the bike shop is only about 5 blocks. By the time I got home, I was totally in love with the bike. I had no idea what a great bike it was yet, but I knew I loved it! And I still do.

     
    Last year, I decided to "upgrade" my Sirrus to a newer one. I don't know why. It was a fine bike. I just needed new bike bling I guess. And I needed an orange bike. I traded in the 2005 Sirrus for the 2014. This is the bike I will take with me on my trip to NYC this spring. It's not a bike I love, but I like it pretty well. Kinda chaps my ass that Specialized decided they didn't need to make this bike in an XS frame. No respect for the "vertically challenged" if you ask me. But I still enjoy my time on it. 

    Stay tuned. There will be a new addition to the stable soon (I hope!). 
×
×
  • Create New...