....with my new bike!
I purchased a beautiful new bike last weekend. It is gorgeous! It is manufactured by Giant and is a Sedona DX. It is silver and has 21 gears. I purchased it from a small independent shop near 21st St. and MLK called The Bicycle Hospital. It is run by a old hippy who loves bikes and is extremely knowledgeable. Moorewrites encouraged me go visit the establishment last week when she know I was serious about making a new purchase.
We took a long lunch last Friday and visited their small shop. I looked around while I waited my turn and there was bikes everywhere. Every time I go into a bike shop I am overwhelmed by the large quantity of choices. When the owner came over I told him what I was looking for and he immediately pointed to this bike. He said it was the #1 best selling bike the last six years. I took a test drive and he gave me instructions for 10 minutes on how to get on and off of the bike as well as how to use the gears. Off I went down this little hill and into a neighborhood. I came back a few minutes later and I was able to downshift and get up the small easily. I was sold!
I asked the guy about the differences in this bike and others I had looked at. Specifically why this bike had larger tires and many of the other Hybrid bikes have smaller 700 cc tires. He looked at me and said that those people had no business putting me on a bike like that unless they are looking for tire repair sales. I was a bit surprised by his bluntness but I appreciated his candor. I would rather someone tell me that I was too large for a bike than sell me something that is not a good fit.
I decided she was going to be my new bike and I handed over my two credit cards and ponied up the money. That is right, I split the cost. I paid for part of it with cash and the remaining part on my credit card. Take a deep breath here...she cost $520. This probably wasn't in my budget but I really NEEDED a new bike with gears.
I initiated her last Sunday afternoon. I took a ride on the Tow path with Ems and Lou and we headed south to downtown. When we hit the car dealership on 10th Street it started to rain. We headed past IUPUI in search of shelter and found it at a Qdoba. We had a meal and the rain started to clear out. As we walked outside it started to pour down rain again. We stood outside for a few minutes and then headed into Au Bon Pain for a dessert in hopes that the rain would stop soon. An hour later it was still raining hard. It just wasn't our day.
Ems tried to call two people for rides home and she was denied. So I made the decision that we were just going to have to ride back in the rain. I encouraged everyone out and on to their bikes. Somehow, I got in the lead and I started down the road with no idea of where I was going. Soon it became apparent that we were headed in the wrong direction so Lou took over and viola he found the path. All of a sudden he became Drill Sargent Lou and was demanding that we ride fast to our destination. I wasn't overly concerned because I was already soaked.
Riding on the sidewalk and White River path was fine but then we hit the Tow path and things went downhill. Do you know that the Tow path is made up of dirt? Do you know what happens when you mix water and dirt? You get mud. As in we were all covered in mud. We have some photos but I am not allowed to show them. It was all over my but, back and legs. We were dirty people and my brothers only concern was that we were not going to be allowed into his precious BMW in our current state.
We drudged back in the mud, and let me tell you it is much harder to ride in the mud than it is on the paved path. I don't necessarily recommend it. Ems lives about 20 blocks closer than where we parked our cars so she offered to drive us back to our cars. I do not like quiting what I start but I happily took her up on her offer. She also offered us towels for the car so I know there was no way Lou was going to let me reject her offer.
Some time later we were all settled and I arrived home. The first thing that I did was give my beautiful new bike a bath and a shine. However, she doesn't look new anymore. But, she gave me an excellent first ride.
Today I met some friends to go biking at Crown Hill Cemetery and I was excited to try her out on some hills and specifically Riley hill. I didn't make it to the top! I was so disappointed in myself. I made it much further than I have on any previous attempt but my heart rate was at 180 and I could no longer breath. I WILL beat that hill by the end of the summer. I did make it up the hill near the entrance twice and that was a first for me. I love that my new bike has allowed me to do things that I have never done before.
I have absolutely NO buyers remorse on this purchase. I am so glad that I bought this bike so I would have plenty of time to enjoy her this summer.
I purchased a beautiful new bike last weekend. It is gorgeous! It is manufactured by Giant and is a Sedona DX. It is silver and has 21 gears. I purchased it from a small independent shop near 21st St. and MLK called The Bicycle Hospital. It is run by a old hippy who loves bikes and is extremely knowledgeable. Moorewrites encouraged me go visit the establishment last week when she know I was serious about making a new purchase.
We took a long lunch last Friday and visited their small shop. I looked around while I waited my turn and there was bikes everywhere. Every time I go into a bike shop I am overwhelmed by the large quantity of choices. When the owner came over I told him what I was looking for and he immediately pointed to this bike. He said it was the #1 best selling bike the last six years. I took a test drive and he gave me instructions for 10 minutes on how to get on and off of the bike as well as how to use the gears. Off I went down this little hill and into a neighborhood. I came back a few minutes later and I was able to downshift and get up the small easily. I was sold!
I asked the guy about the differences in this bike and others I had looked at. Specifically why this bike had larger tires and many of the other Hybrid bikes have smaller 700 cc tires. He looked at me and said that those people had no business putting me on a bike like that unless they are looking for tire repair sales. I was a bit surprised by his bluntness but I appreciated his candor. I would rather someone tell me that I was too large for a bike than sell me something that is not a good fit.
I decided she was going to be my new bike and I handed over my two credit cards and ponied up the money. That is right, I split the cost. I paid for part of it with cash and the remaining part on my credit card. Take a deep breath here...she cost $520. This probably wasn't in my budget but I really NEEDED a new bike with gears.
I initiated her last Sunday afternoon. I took a ride on the Tow path with Ems and Lou and we headed south to downtown. When we hit the car dealership on 10th Street it started to rain. We headed past IUPUI in search of shelter and found it at a Qdoba. We had a meal and the rain started to clear out. As we walked outside it started to pour down rain again. We stood outside for a few minutes and then headed into Au Bon Pain for a dessert in hopes that the rain would stop soon. An hour later it was still raining hard. It just wasn't our day.
Ems tried to call two people for rides home and she was denied. So I made the decision that we were just going to have to ride back in the rain. I encouraged everyone out and on to their bikes. Somehow, I got in the lead and I started down the road with no idea of where I was going. Soon it became apparent that we were headed in the wrong direction so Lou took over and viola he found the path. All of a sudden he became Drill Sargent Lou and was demanding that we ride fast to our destination. I wasn't overly concerned because I was already soaked.
Riding on the sidewalk and White River path was fine but then we hit the Tow path and things went downhill. Do you know that the Tow path is made up of dirt? Do you know what happens when you mix water and dirt? You get mud. As in we were all covered in mud. We have some photos but I am not allowed to show them. It was all over my but, back and legs. We were dirty people and my brothers only concern was that we were not going to be allowed into his precious BMW in our current state.
We drudged back in the mud, and let me tell you it is much harder to ride in the mud than it is on the paved path. I don't necessarily recommend it. Ems lives about 20 blocks closer than where we parked our cars so she offered to drive us back to our cars. I do not like quiting what I start but I happily took her up on her offer. She also offered us towels for the car so I know there was no way Lou was going to let me reject her offer.
Some time later we were all settled and I arrived home. The first thing that I did was give my beautiful new bike a bath and a shine. However, she doesn't look new anymore. But, she gave me an excellent first ride.
Today I met some friends to go biking at Crown Hill Cemetery and I was excited to try her out on some hills and specifically Riley hill. I didn't make it to the top! I was so disappointed in myself. I made it much further than I have on any previous attempt but my heart rate was at 180 and I could no longer breath. I WILL beat that hill by the end of the summer. I did make it up the hill near the entrance twice and that was a first for me. I love that my new bike has allowed me to do things that I have never done before.
I have absolutely NO buyers remorse on this purchase. I am so glad that I bought this bike so I would have plenty of time to enjoy her this summer.
1 comment:
I love this bike. It looks great. I am so happy for you.
NE
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