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Archive for March, 2010

I’ve spent the winter with the bike mounted in the trainer, riding just about every night. However, that hasn’t stopped me from eating many a hearty dinner or renegade bowls of ice cream. The damage hasn’t been too bad, but I do admit to gaining a couple of pounds along the way.

But winter is at an end and I’ve been waiting to get back out on the road. And there has been another urge. A new bike has been calling me. I’ve done nearly 2,000 miles on the current bike and I can tell, it’s not made for this sort of thing, and quite frankly, it’s not made for me. The bikes have been great but the fit is wrong. I’m leaning out too far, my weight is shifted in the wrong direction. I want to put on the big miles and the bike I have just isn’t going to let that happen.

So on this warm Saturday with grand ideas in my head I went to Carolina Bicycle Company to see my buddy Steve. I mainly wanted to talk about the group rides and jumping back in, but while I was there we decided to try out a few bikes. Steve is familiar with the rides I do now, and what I wanted to do in the future. We talked a lot about the type of bike I should look at, and then just for giggles, he took a few down and I went for a spin around the parking lot.

Steve watched how I ride and what my position is like. He made a few adjustments to the bike, grabbed a whole different bike, adjusted it, and had me ride around comparing the two. I was beginning to feel the difference in hand position and seat height. I was beginning to feel the difference between aluminum and carbon.

Pretty quickly Steve dialed in an aluminum frame for me and had me ride around in the parking lot, over the bumps and cracked pavement. While I was gone, he sized up a carbon frame for me and then sent me off on that one. The first bike was great. The second was even smoother. The fit and feel was totally different than what I was used to.

The first bike was a Specialized Allez, aluminum and a thrill to ride.

The second bike was the Roubaix, and I just couldn’t give it back. Steve was laughing as I came back from my ride with a huge grin on my face. Apparently I was gone for more than just a couple of minutes.

"I see we have a winner", he laughed.

Indeed we did! After riding it for around 20 minutes in that parking lot; swerving, jumping the speed bumps, going over the horrid pavement, accelerating and weaving all over, I had found my bike.

It’s a ridiculous amount to pay for a bike, but I now see why people have them. The ride is incredible. They handle completely differently than what I’m used to. I thought that whole thing of aluminum versus carbon was just a gimmick to get people to buy higher priced bikes, but after actually riding one then the other on the same road conditions there is a noticeable difference. One is good. The other is excellent.

I went all in.

Steve worked up a complete package for me – bike, cages, bottles, pedals, bag and toolkit. We put it all together right then and there. We then loaded it into the car so I could go home and ride it some more.

Which I did.

Well that certainly didn’t take long. On the drive home I quietly snuck past 100 miles. I drove the car off the lot with 33 miles on the odometer and before you can blink I’m in the triple digits. Now that the deal is done I’m still really excited about the car. It handled very well. Very tight suspension and smooth cornering. I’ve also been checking out web site and forums and so far I’ve found people who have cars that look similar, but they’re not quite the same. Mine still looks cooler!

Hopefully this is just the beginning and there’s another 99,900 left in this baby!

Or as I shall refer to it from now on, how I kicked off my mid-life crisis.

In December of 2003 I bought my first new car, a Mazda 6 which I’ve had for seven years. It’s been a hassle free, maintenance free, powerful driving machine that I’ve enjoyed immensely. But all good things must come to an end and today’s cars just aren’t meant to last for decades, so the search for a new car was in the works. Ironically, or perhaps more importantly, Donna’s car was coming apart at the seams. Transmission issues, window issues, AC issues and plenty of other things just weren’t working as expected or more to the point, just weren’t working at all. So it seemed the right time for some upgrades.

In looking over different cars and dealers, Kia percolated to the top as someone we wanted to deal with. They seemed keenly excited over us buying two cars at the same time. Pretty much everyone else had a "we might be able to do something for you" mentality. Giving us the cold shoulder during these economic times? Not exactly the business savvy I was expecting. Oh well, screw you hippies!

I’d been interested in the Hyundai Genesis, but found that Kia had a similar offering. Since Hyundai had snubbed us, the Forte was now at the top of the list. A quick test drive told me it was a car I wanted. Nice handling, a respectable amount of power and lots of fancy buttons on the dash. Clearly, the more buttons on the dash, the better a car is.

As we were test driving and mulling things over we realized we had to get one of our kids to work. We told them we’d be right back and to start getting all the papers ready. Perhaps to make sure we’d actually come back, they told me to take the Forte instead of my own car. I left my car on the lot and took theirs for a long test drive. And I liked it! And no it wasn’t like the scene out of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

A couple quick trips, an errand or two, and a spot of lunch and we were back at the dealer. Billy, the salesman, asked how I liked the car and which one I wanted. I jokingly made a comment about the one on the showroom floor. He came right back with "just the difference between manual and automatic". "It’s already got your name on it" he said with a big smile.

Now, keep in mind the cars on the showroom floor are a little different than the ones on the lot. At least that’s how I see it. That’s the way it was with my 6. It had upgraded components, better stereo, spoiler, sports package, upgraded seats, etc. Plus, since it’s in the showroom it usually has a better paintjob (clear coat) and no one gets to drive it. Plus it isn’t sitting in the sun or beaten by the elements.

The same was true of the Forte. It had upgraded components, a protective coat on the paint, upgraded tires, spoiler and other little niceties, not to mention the stereo system with has every abbreviation you can think of (MP3, CD, Sirius/XM, iPod, with speakers tucked away all over the place). From the way the sticker read it had about $3,500 in upgrades from where an SX automatic ends. You’re only going to charge me how much for this upgrade? Count me in!

When I bought my 6 they rolled it right out of the showroom. They did the same thing with the Forte. It got quite a few looks from customers and employees alike as they opened the doors and began moving cars out of the way. One guy, who happened to be looking at the Forte as they came over to drive it away, wondered what was going on. He asked me if I knew what happened. With a large smile, I told him they were getting my car ready.

While I was greatly amused with the purchase of a new car, I would be lying if I didn’t feel some sadness at leaving my Mazda 6 behind. I’ve put a lot of miles on that car, both figuratively and literally. There’s been a lot of ups and downs over the last seven years but the 6 was flawless through all of them. I’ve lived three different places in two different states, had a couple of jobs, lost a couple of friends and sent a couple kids off to college. Heck, I remember my kids playing the trunk of the 6 while I was signing the paperwork. They remember playing the trunk.

But I feel confident that Kia is going to tune it and wash it and make that 6 look new again. So if you’re in the market for a used car and happen to come across a white Mazda 6, be kind to her.

So the Racing Red Kia Forte SX is sitting in the driveway, highly polished and looking sporty. I wasn’t quite ready to get rid of the Mazda, but you never know when your mid-life crisis will kick in.