New Things

Temp: 78* and sunny with wind
Biking today: 2.5 hours-2 bike shops, toured Piedmont Park & grocery shop at Publix on Ponce.
Walking today: 30 minutes with the boys- Home Depot via Trader Joes

The weather is great, I'm feeling gloomy, the dogs seem satisfied. They got a new doggie dog courteous of the world's greatest boyfriend Matt...before he left. I'm trying to stay busy so that I don't just sit in the dark watching lame movies I can find online and eatting pizza and ice cream, which is my natural response to being adandoned. Instead I tell myself to eat healthy as me on Rocky can't really handle any more pounds! I swear the bike weighs 35# empty! I was going to weigh it the other day at a local snobby bike shop, but they literally pretended I was invisible so I didnt' take the liberty of just hiking the beast up to their weigh-your-bike-thing. To combat the sudden loneliness I have decide to find the "one". The Perfect Bike. (for me right now anyways.) I believe this requires a little background in my bike history.

It all started in high school when my (terrible) boyfriend got his first mountain bike, it was a beautiful Trek 830 Singletrack hardtail with a green fade to purple paint job. Pretty much every second he wasn't riding it I was. We ended up moving in together after high school and the Trek became mine while he went to a Rockhopper. I rode the hell out of that bike all over Alaska. I loved that bike, and that's when it happened, that's when the bike got hold of my soul. I started dreaming about bikes and dirt and singletrack. Nothing in the world felt better than that bike on my shoulder hiking over lost trails looking to conquer whatever was next. I got a full suspension Rockhopper as a gift, and rode it, but never liked it all that much. But I kept riding regardless, miles and miles of dirt and trail.

Then we got cable one summer and I found the Outdoor Life Network and they showed the entire tour de france, it was Lance's 4th win. I was in awe of the machines and the abilities of the men on those machines. I couldn't get enough. I started dreaming of pavement and road bikes, but it seemed so unreachable in Alaska. I kept on riding my dirt trails on my becoming-ancient Trek.

I got married, lost the bikes in the divorce and moved to Atlanta. One of the first things I did was buy a road bike. A Trek 1000SL for the Silver Comet Trail. I love biking because it's amazing how fast you improve when you ride everyday. Soon I was up to 20 miles a day and 30-50 on the weekends, it was great. That bike was perfect for the bike trail, comfortable, fast enough and had a great paint job that begged for compliments. I was single at the time ok?! Anyways, I missed the dirt so I bought a Trek 4300...it got about 50 miles before it got stored away and almost forgotten. I had to drive so far to ride it anywhere, it didn't provide much fun in the city and honestly the trails I rode didn't impress me much either. A curse from riding in Alaska for so many years. At one point I had 4 Treks at my house each for different functions.

I talked Matt into getting a matching 1000SL which he is pretty happy with. Then I sold the Trek hybrids, too grandma-ish and needed a proper owner. Then I sold the Mountain Bike to a 14 year old boy that I'm sure is riding the hell out of it like it desperately needed. Yesterday I sold the 1000 to a girl named Lucy that is doing her first triathlon in two weeks.
She really needed it, and lives next to the Silver Comet Trail so it's back where it belongs. When I bought it at Atlanta Cycling in Vinings the guy said you probably won't like it. Most people that go from MTB to road hate them. I never did, I surprised myself because I outgrew it. I have thought of myself as an above average recreational rider for years, but am now realizing how far I have to go on a bike. Mostly because I realize for the first time how far I can go! So I'm shopping and memorizing details and specs, and dreaming of the Perfect Bike.

It might be this one, or this one, or maybe this one???

My world has opened up as far as bikes are concerned. I am test driving all types of machines and have a wish list:
-The Perfect Fit for me
-Disc brakes
-Smooth, sweet ride (I hear music and birds singing...)
-Able to be aggressive for fun, but able to be comfortable for really long rides
-Fast and cushy at the same time
-I want it to Scream Fun! Fun! every time I get on it

is this too much to ask??? Apparently I'm narrowing it down between a few, but the cyclocross surprised me today more than I was expecting! That machine was FUN and sweeeeet!! A total surprise, not what I was expecting, I'm glad I rode it. It's good to try new things.

I've now paired down to just Rocky,
the beater I got on craigslist for $20. She rides rugged and rough but gets me from point A to point B with luggage to boot!