I finally took the plunge and went to Fargo yesterday and picked out the bike I've been reading about for months online. It was a little scary but a lot of fun. I've never spent so much for a bike ($1600) and hope I won't regret the expense. But it was just such a beautiful ride, and I couldn't pass it by. After a 3 hour drive under dreary cloudy skies, I discovered the brand new Scheels All Sports store was fortunately only 4 blocks from the interstate. It is a huge new 2 story brick monster of a store and the first thing you see when you enter is a large comical NDSU buffalo mascot standing in front of a ferris wheel offering you a token. After a trip through a bunch of clothing racks, I started to go up an escalator trying to see where the bikes were, hoping they weren't on the upper level. Fortunately, I spotted them way back in the corner of the store behind the escalator. So I made my way past all the hunting displays and winter clothing and a candy/deli store to rows and rows of bikes - all the way to the ceiling. At first I didn't think I would be able to find a salesperson, but a cute young blonde found me wandering around and made a few calls to someone who could help. Julie came over talking on a cell phone to someone and describing all the bikes I wanted to look at. When she finally finished, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have one of those experiences where I felt like a stupid amateur and the employee would try to impress me with how much more they knew about bikes than me. But I was pleasantly surprised, as Julie spent the next 3 hours with me to find out what kind of riding I do, the size I would need, and then bringing up bike after bike for me to examine and we finally found a Trek 5000 WSD (women's specific design) that fit great. I got all outfitted to go for a test ride. It has stopped drizzling and so I went out behind the huge store and rode around the playground for the day care kids of the employees and across the parking lot to an empty lot of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield offices. It is a lot different than riding my old hybrid. Hardly feels like there is anything under me. But the shifting was so smooth and I just could feel my body more than my body pulling a bike under it. Today I got all my domestic chores done early and then brought the bike out to get the computer set up and figure out how to put the clips in and out of the pedals. After a couple of laps around the neighborhood with my young neighbor Miriah, I pulled up in front of my garage and almost had my first tumble, but she caught me. Her Mom came over to admire the bike and keep an eye on her daughter, I think she was worried she would have some kind of mishap with my new bike or something. I went in and got my camera and decided to hit the trails and practice clipping in and out of the pedals. It is going to take a lot of practice before I can do as well as some of the riders I've seen who mount and dismount with ease. But I'll get there. I tried to stand up and really get some speed on it, but almost fell over, felt like there was nothing under my legs. So this is going to take a few months to get all the kinks worked out. Hope we have a nice fall so I can get used to it.
