The more I stare at it, the more I realize how little I ride it. Part of it I think is that I don't feel it fits me quite well, the other part is that I'm just not into the whole "roadie" thing.
Yes, I wear bike shorts and a jersey. Yes, I have bicycle shoes (SPD). And yes, I ride mostly on the road. I just don't ride on the road with this bike.
It's a nice bike, don't get me wrong: 105 STI, brakes, front derailleur and an Ultegra rear derailleur. It even has a decent wheel set.
I just don't ride it.
I began to think about the kind of riding I do and where I ride.
Mostly it has to do with where I ride. Kailua has been under construction for about as long as I remember. Okay, not that long, but for as long as I have been riding a bike, which is not that long.
The pavement in some places has been ripped up and patched, sometimes more than once so finding clean smooth pavement is becoming rare. Once the crews patch up one street, they start digging up another.
Not that riding around on my display bike is all that bad. I mean I do have fifty nine miles on it, mostly on these very same roads.
It's just that I don't see the point of riding it when I have a bike that is more suited to the terrain.
I also began to think about why I got into riding. Part of it was fitness, but the other reason was to stop taking the car on short trips around Kailua.
I envisioned myself riding around with a proud smirk on my face knowing that I was saving gas and helping the planet.
Now, I come home from my ride and jump in the car to pick up something from the market.
So, I have decided that I would make more use out of a utility bike. Something I could hang some baskets from. A bike that I could install some lights and reflectors on, clip a bell to the handlebars and ride in comfort. I could put one of those three foot wide beach bars on it and some platform pedals so I could ride around in my slippers. I may even put some tennis balls in the spokes.
Okay, maybe not the tennis balls.
I don't want another show and go bike, I just want a bike to go.
I want to ride my bike to the beach without worry about it getting stolen. I want to make trips to the hardware store to pick up small things like stainless steel bolts for my other bike. I want a bike with big fat tires to cruise around with on my slow days.
The fact is, I would ride this type of bike more frequently than my display bike.
I usually have a hard time parting with things I've had for a while. For some reason, I have always been a bit detached to this bike so listing it for sale was not difficult.
I hope it finds a good home.
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