Regular followers of my Facebook postings will know that I am somewhat of a bicyclist. "Somewhat" because although I ride an awful lot compared to the average almost-47-year-old (nearly 3,000 miles in 2010), I still lag behind many other folks both in mileage and technique. In other words, I ride a lot, but mostly to stay in reasonably good health. I'm not a racer or anything.
Since those regular followers know about my riding, they probably also know about my 2010 Cervelo RS, an awesome carbon-fiber machine equipped with Shimano Ultegra components, easily the best bicycle I have ever owned. But this particular note is actually about my even newer new bike, the Cannondale Bad Boy I got a couple weeks ago. Kind of a mid-life crisis-looking thing, but way less expensive than a red Corvette. Waaayyy less expensive... And about a week ago I took it out for a spin in the woods.
Now before we get into the whole ride in the woods thing, let me explain my fascination with, some would even say love for, new gadgets of all kinds. Since I was a kid I have loved getting the latest electronic gizmo, and now that I am an adult (at least by virtue of age) I can afford some cooler stuff (college fund? what college fund?). So it happened that a couple of years ago my wife purchased for me a Garmin Edge 205 GPS for my bike. I upgraded that within the year, I think, to the official Garmin Cycling Team issue Edge 705, complete with heart rate monitor, ANT+ Power Tap capability, and at least 75 things that it tracks, records, and uploads to my computer, which then I can upload to MapMyRide. All of this for no apparent reason; I really don't know what most of the info is for! I just think it's cool to be able to do it. And track my rides. Maybe check out a map of where I was. MapMyRide even does a 3d video virtual flyover of the routes I upload. Because ALL of us need to see where we just were...
So you can imagine my distress a couple weeks ago when, on a Sunday afternoon group ride, my Garmin's long-neglected battery died 10 miles into a 25-mile ride. Horrors! How would I track this route? How fast was I going? What was my cadence? Heart rate? Average speed? How would I add the uncharted miles to my yearly total? "I think you'll find it liberating," my good friend MC stated matter-of-factly. Well, I didn't. Kind of drove me nuts. I went straight home after the ride and plugged the dang thing in so it would be charged and ready at a moment's notice the next day to serve its purpose.
Fast forward a few weeks to the end of June. I bought a couple of new bikes for Dana's and my 21st anniversary. She and I used to enjoy riding an awful lot; we even spent our honeymoon on a bike tour in Vermont. But kids, the job, and other life pressures have caused that part of her life to go by the wayside until recently, when she purchased an indoor trainer for herself. So I bought her a Cannondale Quick 4 and the Bad Boy Solo for myself.
The Bad Boy. Easily one of the coolest bikes in the shop. Flat black with reflective ghost-style C'dale logos on the frame, slick smooth Schwalbe Kojak tires, disc brakes, and the coolest thing of all, the "Lefty" fork. "Lefty" as in "there is only one side of that fork. What happened to the other side?" I am quite certain that the advent of the Lefty is so folks like me can think it's cool. The official mountain bike one actually adds functionality and reduces weight, but mine is just a solid, one-sided fork. And way cool.
And it rides... well, like a 26-pound aluminum city bike designed to take some abuse. Not exactly the Cervelo. But what a blast! The first ride we took together ended up being more of a whim on the evening of our anniversary, and we ended up at my sister's place across town. On the way home I started remembering rides from when I was a kid - the rhythmic bump-bump-bump as the tires crossed the lines in the sidewalk (kept on the multi-use paths for this ride), the fact that I was wearing regular clothes and tennis shoes, and that sort of thing. The only thing really different was that now I won't get on a bike without putting on a helmet, and back when I was a kid I don't even think they made them.
So remember all of that sidetrack nonsense about gadgets and stuff? And "liberating?" Well:
A week or so after that maiden voyage a friend of mine invited me to go to Pigeon Creek Park for a ride through the trails. I had told him about my new bike, and he, being an avid mountain biker, invited me to do some riding with him. (I should say here that this bike is not really a mountain bike; it looks kind of like one, but it probably won't take the abuse that a true MTN frame will.) So I put on some Pro Fighter 2 trail tires (what a cool name!) and headed for the trail.
Let me tell you that within minutes I was transported back to age 12. A cool summer evening in the woods, bombing through the trails on a bike that was built, as far as I'm concerned, for pure fun. And I left the Garmin at home. I don't remember the last time I had such a time on a bike. Seriously, I think I was 12. Maybe less. Got my first road bike for my 11th birthday, so maybe I was 10. Riding through the trails in Waukazoo Woods with my friends, chasing each other down, not worrying about what time it was or where we had to be next. Sweat, mosquito bites, dirt spewing up from the front tire all over my shins. How cool!
THAT, my friends, was liberating. I can hardly wait to go back
