New Bicycle

This weekend The Bicycle Outfitter in nearby Los Altos was having a sale, on bikes and gear. Debbi has had her eye on a bike, and I've wanted to buy a new one myself, so we headed over yesterday around noon.

I went for test rides on three different bikes, and ended up buying a road bike from an Italian company called Bianchi.

Boy, road bikes are expensive these days! The bike I'm replacing (for various reasons) I bought for $230 in 1991, and you pretty much can't buy a road bike for less than $500. Well, I ended up spending more than that. But it's what I wanted to get: Lots of gears, light (feels like it weighs about a third as much as my old bike), good brakes, good shifters, etc. etc. Hopefully it will last me many years to come.

I've been joking for a while that every time I move I lose some bike paraphernalia. I had to buy a bunch of new stuff, either because I'd lost 'em or because they were old and tattered and needed replacing: Water bottle and holder, tail light, car rack, lock. Turns out I also need to buy a headlight, and I'll probably buy one of those doo-dads that mounts over the rear wheel so I can hang bags on my bike. It's kind of a drag to bike wearing a backpack, especially in hot weather.

I don't have to replace my helmet yet, though. And I'm undecided whether I'll buy some dorky bike clothes.

For her part, Debbi bought a helmet, lock and lights, taking advantage of their sale. And it turns out she bought her bike today, so we'll be able to go riding together soon!

When I bought my house, I knew the two large purchases I wanted to make were a new bike and a new couch. It's great to have one of those out of the way. And now I can look to starting to bike to work regularly.

We did some cooking this weekend, too. Last night I grilled a couple of pork chops using a spice rub from Cooks Illustrated which turned out great, and Debbi made pancakes and sausage for breakfast this morning.

In the afternoon, though, we parted company, as I joined Syd to go see the Oakland A's host the Chicago White Sox. It wasn't an especially notable game, although we did see two home runs out of Terrence Long (much like a game we saw in June), some plays both good and bad out of Mark Ellis, and a great play by David Justice to rob a home run. In the end, The A's won 7-4.

Then I came home and rode my new bike for an hour. It's taking a little getting used to: No suicide brake grips, the seat is set higher than I'm used to (which is probably the right thing, but takes some adjustment), and getting used to the different shifters. I got a great workout, though. I can really crank up to a good speed on that thing.

Imagine what it'll be like once I've gotten in better shape!