| (Long Distance) Ramblings |
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I like to ride my bicycle - for long distances. I have earned the California Triple Crown and finished the Furnace Creek 508. My goals include qualifying for RAAM and ...(read the blog to find out). "The bicycle has a soul. If you are able to love it as it deserves, it will give you emotions you will never forget." "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
"The important decisions in my life I make while out riding my bike."
"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong
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Thursday, October 30, 2003
Tonight, I rode with the group from Scott's Cycles. It was dark, we rode fast, and I didn't crash! We headed north into the night, headlights blazing. It was a quick, flat ride but it was very interesting. Riding in the dark, even with lights, it is difficult to see road hazards. And I hit more than one unseen "bump in the night". None the less, I completed the ride with no flats. However, the big news of the day is that I ordered a new bicycle frame! I have wanted a new bicycle for some time. However, my Cannondale still serves me very well. I have over six thousand miles on it. I have upgraded the components several times. The bike is pretty much "dialed in". Still, I found myself longing for something different, something that is a bit more comfortable on the long rides that I enjoy. I started looking around. My first decision was frame material. My choices are: steel, aluminum, titanium and carbon ( or a combination of carbon and something else). First I ruled out carbon. This decision was not based on fact, I just like my bikes to go "ting" instead of "thunk". Next, I ruled out a mixture of carbon and a metal. Same reason. This left me steel, aluminum and titanium. Steel is very compliant, but is generally heavy. The Cannondale is aluminum, and I wanted something different. So, I took a hard look at titanium bikes. I was looking at Litespeed and Seven but I was not excited by either. Don't know why. Then, one day I walked into the local bicycle shop and saw a titanium LeMond. The LeMond Web Site describes it as "One of the most elegant and technically advanced Ti frames available anywhere, from anyone. Handcrafted one at a time here in the U.S. using shaped Reynolds 3/2.5 Ti tubing that's mechanically butted as opposed to chemically milled for added strength." I had found my new bicycle!
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