Well it was inevitable I suppose, last week I finally broke down and bought a bike. I have been wanting one for some time now as I dreamed of commuting to work via bicycle. My last bicycle, however, was stolen when I moved to Irvine and I had not been able to justify replacing it. My bicycle aspirations had some stringent requirements, so the "Target Special" was not an option for me. If I do ride everyday, the 150 miles per week would have reduced such a bike to rubble within a year. Also, I have always been a fan of the right tool for the job, so using a mountain bike to ride roads all the time seemed silly. Finally, I decided that if I ever wanted to do a triathlon, having to go out and buy another bike for that purpose was not an option. All of these requirements pointed to a decent road bike, however the $1k+ price tag was out of reach. Watching the web for good bike deals got pretty frustrating as everything in my price range ($100) was pretty much junk, and I had almost given up hope. But patience prevailed and last week a deal came up that met all of my requirements.
The bike is fairly old, but has obviously not seen much use, so all of the components are like new. I put a bit of work into it this weekend (grease, oil, new tires, new grip tape), and now it is a working commuter/weekend/tri bike. All that remains is for me to get used to it. I have not been on a bike in about 12 years, and I have never had a road bike, so most of this is new ground for me. But hopefully with a few miles on the roads around my house, I will be able to venture out and ride it to work regularly. One Less Car!
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