The Gear Part 2 - Road Bike

Do you have any idea how much a bike costs??  I sure didn't.  I have been riding a bike that my grandma got after she had hip surgery in like 1994.  Don't get me wrong I LOVE that bike!  I really do.  It rides well and it has sentimental value for me.  However it wouldn't do real well in a race.  If you know anything about bikes you know they have different size tires.  The skinnier the tire, the faster the bike can go.  My old bike is a hybrid which means it has mid size tires.  It's great for city riding but would probably double my time when it came to racing.  Which means I need a racing bike. 

I went to a few store in the area to try to learn a little bit about what I need.  It was quickly becoming clear to me that I would not be finding a road bike for a couple hundred dollars.  I rode several different brands of bikes and as usual fell in love with the most expensive one.  When I say expensive I mean this bike is going to cost me more then anything I have ever bought...except for my car.  So I did whatever any logical person would do and I put it on my Christmas list....nope didn't work...suppose you could see that one coming.  Well I'm back at square one.

At this point it's mid January.  I go to good old REI and low and behold bikes are on clearance in the middle of winter in Chicago.  AWESOME!  They carry several different bikes but the one I found was a Novara Carama Pro.  They only had one left and it was my size and it was really pretty (it has pink on it).  It had been sitting there waiting for me to find it!  The wonderful sales staff got me all hooked up with bike shoes, special pedals and a computer to track my distance, speed, ect.  The best part about the whole thing was I got all that and the bike for less then the original price.  Way to go me!!

This really cool bike had been sitting in my apartment for the past few months and finally it warmed up enough for me to go for a ride last week.  It was GREAT!  It's smooth and easy to ride.  I love being able to track my distance.  Being able to see my speed motivates me to go faster and challenge myself.  I can't wait to take it out again!