I don't mind the rat race but I could do with a little more cheese.

Still love the new bike. Still working on a name for her. Still writing sentences without a subject.

I realized during yesterday's commutes that I'm sliding into off the saddle towards the handlebar. This won't do, especially since it's exacerbating pressure on my wrists and causing my hands to go numb. Scott helped me with testing new saddle angles last night, but this morning's commute showed more fiddling is required. I think I need to raise the handlebar a skosh so I can sit just a bit more upright and not lean on my hands so much. Of course, I'm going to get everything just so and then the new saddle -- I decided upon the Selle Royal -- will arrive. What a difficult life I lead.

The other adjustment is mental. I tried not to race the other commuters going the same direction as me, and I failed. I mean, I failed at not racing: I totally flew past them, skirt billowing in the wind gust. Sigh. I could chalk it up to being overly excited that I'm no longer the only west bound commuter in the morning, but it's really because I'm too competitive for my own good. Just ask Scott about my mother's and my full-contact Scrabble games.

Huh, I just realized something. I'm only competitive on my "underdog" bikes and when I'm on the road bike, I peacefully accept that I'm going to get left in the dust.

Okay, so my trip to Columbus was kind of fun, as much as business trips can be anyway, except for the getting into and out of the city. My experiences reminded me of why, when I fly for personal reasons, I never fly with... Oh, heck. I'm more excited about the arrival and maiden voyage of my new bike.

The PUBLIC box is sprinkled with quotes about bikes from the likes of Susan B. Anthony, Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, and Bob Weir. I savored every moment of opening the box and Scott hauled the bike out for me.

The PUBLIC assembly team had already installed the seat, rack, and bell for me. All I had to do was slip the handlebar into the head tube and attach the pedals (which are not part of the recalled set) to the crank arms -- pretty simple tasks, truth be told. The included tools meant that I didn't even have to search for anything in our toolbox except for a Phillips head screwdriver. After I'd put the bike together and pulled off all the cardboard packaging, I stepped back and gasped at its elegant beauty. I began champing at the bit to see if it really would be love at first ride.

It was. Sure, the C8 is no speed demon, but it holds its own. The ride quality is fairly smooth and it corners well. The bike is simply fun to ride. And hills? What hills? The 20-hate bridge was no match for this San Francisco-designed cycle, even with a basket and pannier loaded down with groceries.

I love how easy it is to step through the frame. The opening is not as spacious as my cruiser's, but I'd put the C8 on par with a Linus Dutchi. The reflective stripe on the cream tires is an inspired safety feature. I'm going to have to get used to such an upright riding position, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice. It was also fun seeing appreciative glances from passers-by and even getting "That's a great looking bike!" from an overtaking roadie.

Now, there are a couple of things I don't love: the grips and the saddle. The triangle grips hurt my palms and the material makes my skin crawl. The saddle is quite plush and feels ~so~ big compared to my other bikes' saddles. I will be trading out both of those items. Right now I'm considering either a Velo Orange or Selle Royal saddle. Grips will follow to match whichever saddle I decide upon since I can wear gloves in the meantime. I'm not in love with the bell, either, but that's a fairly minor swap if I decide that it's too irritating.

Overall, and after only a few miles of riding, I am beyond pleased with the C8 and I do not regret the purchase AT ALL. I'm looking forward to many, many miles ahead. Oh, and figuring out what its name is.


My PUBLIC Bikes C8.

(I neglected to copy over yesterday's bike blog post so y'all get a two-fer.)

Wednesday

I am >this< close to clicking the BUY button on PUBLIC Bikes C8 page. If I pull the trigger before the 18th, I'll get free shipping. If I do it today or tomorrow, the bike will arrive before we go to Memphis. I wouldn't want our cat sitter to have to lug a six foot long box into the house: that's what Scott is for!

( Peekture. )

The powder blue appeals to me more than the cream because I love color -- the orange is a bit too colorful -- and the bike I'm absolutely going to keep -- Circe -- is mostly white. Yes, Kate is blue but she's first on the sales chopping block. And yes, she's super fun and adorable beyond compare but she is impractical for my needs and wants. I will most likely sell Lily -- which is white -- but she might also stick around. Scott doesn't think I'll be able to let her go even if she and the C8 fill a similar niche. I mean, it's not like I'm going to take up mountain biking. I'll most likely wind up with broken bones rather than skinned knees! But... well, we'll see what happens with the hybrid.

---

Thursday

I did it. I bought the C8 in powder blue -- with matching rack and bell -- last night. It should be in my hot little hands before the end of the month. Mmmm... loop frame-y goodness. Scott, a.k.a. the Honey Badger in response to my shopping, said nothing except "Did you just buy it?" when he noticed me hyperventilating with excitement.

This morning friends are both congratulating me on the new baby and suggesting an intervention. I don't have a problem; I can quit any time. Ahem.

Hubbyfink and I took a break from car stuff on Sunday because 1) the dealerships I wanted to visit aren't open on Sundays and 2) Carmax had nothing in their local inventory which came close to my list of demands. Plus? I'm not even considering purchasing a car with at least 50,000 miles on it for the same prices as the new vehicle. Instead, Hubbyfink planned to ride to the gym, swim, and ride home. Before leaving, though, he worked on attaching some bar-end handle thingies to his bike, but couldn't get the handle over the stem of his rear view mirror. The stem of the rear view mirrors we both have are slightly too big for the inner diameter of his handlebar tube so Adam shaved the stem down just a bit and mashed it into the handlebar. The bar attachment thingie Hubbyfink wanted to put on couldn't open wide enough for him to slip it over the mirror end and he wasn't able to pry the mirror off his handlebar. I suggested we take his bike to the local bike shop and get Adam to work his magic. This ride would also give me a chance to put more miles on Circe.

The Weather Channel promised a little bit of wind in our neck of the woods, but I would call that "little bit of wind" downright blustery. We took turns acting as windbreaks for each other and that worked out pretty well. I was amused to feel the difference in exertion depending upon which one of us was in front and in rear.

We made it to the shop without issue; although Hubbyfink was fairly wiped out from the seven mile ride. He had plenty of time to recover, though, since Sunday is apparently the day when everybody comes in for maintenance. I was sad that the usual gang wasn't on staff, but I guess they need a day off every now and then. While we waited for Hubbyfink's turn, I purchased a couple of bottle cages for Circe because the pair I had were too loose and made my bottle rattle the. entire. ride. over. As I swapped out old cages for new, a couple of the salesguy came over to ask if I wanted assistance. I laughed that it was just bottle cages and I was good. One of the guys praised my self-sufficiency. I told him I could even change a tire and had taken my friend's cruiser apart and put it back together. They said I should watch out or they might hire me. I joked back that I wouldn't mind the employee discount. That banter carried over to Hubbyfink's perusal of cyclocross bikes where he asked if it was possible to change out the nubby tires for slicks and vice versa. Salesguy said yes and that I could show Hubbyfink how to do that. Heh.

The ride home was MUCH easier now that we had a tailwind and I was really able to open Circe up. I was able to get her to just over 26 mph on a flat section and sailed up a hill at 24. I then coasted for a couple of minutes to let Hubbyfink catch up. It was fun showing off and passing him on hills especially on the route 28 overpass. I hit that sucker at 14 mph and crested at just under 13. All in all, it was a fun outing and I'm enjoying getting used to the new bike.

Back in January, I test rode a Specialized Dolce Comp Compact and fell in love. I had decided that my next bike would be of the road variety so I could increase my mileage and participate in metric and actual centuries. When my bonus hit the bank account on Friday, I knew this was the weekend that I would make that bike mine.

Since I was already at the bike shop and learned from the manager that all branches of Spokes give club discounts on bikes and accessories -- Bike Me DC counts as a club, whoo hoo! -- I had Max pull the 54cm Dolce down and prep it for a test ride. Despite the gorgeous weather, the test was a short ride because 1) I'd already ridden the same style of bike and I wanted to make sure this one felt the same and 2) I needed to save my legs for the (uphill) ride back home. I carried the bike back into the store and declared, "SOLD!" I then phoned Scott and asked him to drive over and carry the new bike home. I think everyone was shocked that I wasn't going to ride it home, but I want to get used to the new bike in my own neighborhood rather than the open road and trail. After all, I'm used to a flat handlebar and a fairly upright position. The horns, drop bars, and brake/shifter combo levers are going to take some time to learn.


I still haven't ridden her, mostly due to lack of time. It's looking like the weather will be fairly mild, for February, on Sunday and I will be able to make friends with my new ride and figure out a proper name for her. "Nancy" is still stuck in my head despite not sounding "fast". Mom suggested that spelling the name as "Nanci" sounds racier. I think she's right.

On Sunday, pirategirleee and baronalejandro joined the Hubbyfink and me for the Stop, Swap, & Save expo in Westminster, MD. The bike enthusiasm I've infected most of my friends with finally overcame PG and she was determined to find a bike of her own at the swap meet. Almost immediately she spied an adorable blue cruiser with partial chain guard and coaster brakes. After locating the owner, she took it for a test ride and came back with a smile that nearly split her face in half. I couldn't resist the adorableness and took the bike for a spin of my own. Like buttah. BA's a bike mechanic and after taking it on his own spin, he declared it sound. The bike was half of PG's allotted bike budget and she paid the seller without a second thought.


Careful... you'll cultivate bicycle face.
After riding the bike to the truck for storage (hey! I finally got to ride a bike in the snow!), we headed back inside to find her some safety gear. First up was the helmet.

We found a woman selling Bern helmets for $25. Dude! I shoved PG toward the stall and waited while she tried on several different styles. Unfortunately, none of them fit comfortably and we walked away dejectedly. I was tempted to snag another Bern for myself, but I already had three (now four... that'll be another post) helmets for my own noggin. As we hunted for more helmets, PG talked about all the stickers and whatnot she was going to add to her bike.

See, I would have gone all girly with a bike like that: wicker basket, tinkly little bell, streamers maybe, and a floral helmet to coordinate. That's not PG's speed. She's going to bad-ass up her bike with stickers and an oogah horn. These are the blinky lights she snapped up:


These are ~so~ pirategirleee.
If I remember correctly, the white blinky is a white skull and the red blinky is a black skull. Pretty adorable, right? But because I'm such a tight wad, I couldn't possibly put something like that on my bike. PG, on the other hand, squealed and snapped them right up. She also found a helmet that I would have never in a million years picked out:


She's got a thing for skulls, you see...
She was almost as happy about that helmet as she was about the bike. My inner Martha Stewart was crying but but but, it doesn't go with the bike! Except, you know, it isn't my bike to accessorize. This is HER bike and it doesn't matter one flip what I think about the accessories she likes. I have to (and do) admire her individuality and her knowing exactly what she wants. I fret about making my bike look "right" and "presentable" which is silly because there's no standard out there for what a bike should look like. She's going to look awesome on her bad-ass bike, she's going to love making it hers, and even more importantly, she's going to love riding it.

Kudos to you, pirategirleee! I can't wait to go riding with you this spring and seeing all the looks of admiration other cyclists throw your way.