The new Bike

I have finally gotten a picture of my new road bike, the replacement of the Kona Zing. It's not on the same level as the Zing but I am starting to bond with it. Being a women's specific model, it fits me better than the Zing did, much to my surprise. My wrist don't hurt near as much and I feel more secure because I can reach and grip the hoods and brake levers better, the Zing's levers were really just too big for my smaller hands. I sort of poopawed the whole women's specific sizing thing but now I'm a believer. And no, the computer will not stay there on the top tube, it's there only because the bike has been on the trainer, the sensor is on the rear tire.

It has lower end components but they are working just fine, smooth and snappy. The brakes suck, however, I will be upgrading them, maybe also the wheels. For now, I have replaced the brake shoes and that made a big difference. I will be replacing the seatpost.

The bike is much pinker in true color. The first comment my mom made when she saw it was "Wow, that's a PINK bike!" I've come to like the pink. Some of the women's cycling forums really put pink down. My new philosophy is that only real women can ride a pink bike with lower end components. Women can throw more smack than men. Yep, it's true.

The wind has been blowing hard and I hate riding in wind more than any other weather condition, so this last week I did not ride to work. Work has also been extra stressful and lots of overtime, plus I will have to start working in Eagle River and Anchorage. Ahhhggg. That is 2 lost hours of my day due to driving time. My external family appears to have lost their marbles so they are all fired until they can find them again.

Anyone want to buy a motorcycle? Capt'n Balance was looking to buy a motorcycle a few weeks ago to zip back and forth to work, but it sold before he got to look at it. I checked Craigslist last week and found this nice yahama, street legal, that I though would be perfect. I bought it, got a good deal (I think..I don't know anything about motorcycles) and brought it home as a surprise for the Capt'n. Well, turns out he doesn't want a motorcycle anymore. So he is fired also.

Now I have this motorcycle. I have no interest in riding it, I don't know how to anyway. The funny part of it all is Bikeboy. He has spotted an opportunity to maybe score a motorcycle. I can see he is just quivering inside, his eyes wide and hopeful, a dreamy smile on his face, when he asks me what I'm going to do with it. He doesn't have much bargining power at this point, due to less than steller grades and a high cell phone bill.

I let him ride it this afternoon. Maybe I can use the motorcycle as an object of motivation. As long as he can also show me he is responsible enough to ride a motorcycle on the roads and not get hurt. If not, he's fired too.

So enough bitching. I really need a bike ride to burn out all the bad juju and sunshine, beer and music to sooth the soul. I'm hoping to go for a long, long ride this weekend.

It's finally starting to green up and sort of looks like Spring. When spring comes, it's almost like I breath a mental sigh of relief, even though I love winter. It's good to have a break from icy roads, chopping wood, keeping the wood stove burning, huge heating bills.