New Year, New Hobby

I wrote this once and somehow magically deleted it. Writing something for the second time just doesn’t come as naturally as the first. So please excuse my awful grammar, changes of tenses, and overall ADD style of this post 😉

Greetings! So I may have made an impulse buy. But an impulse buy that is good for my health and well-being. I have recently had an interest in cycling and almost like the idea of doing a triathlon. The only part of the triathlon that I don’t like is that I’m not the best swimmer… and I didn’t own a bicycle. So pretty much the running part is the only part I would be comfortable with. I figured swimming could be fixed with practice but I still didn’t know what to do for a bike.

After doing that 5k New Years day, I was feeling all sorts of inspired. I mean running for your first activity of the new year is seriously getting off on the right foot. Aside from feeling energized after that run, I had a chance to talk to a few friends who do triathlons. Just the fact that I knew someone who did one made me want to. They also informed me that Eastern Mountain Sports was having a sale on select bicycles that they weren’t going to carry anymore or older 2014 models. I thought meeeehhh I should probably check them out.

The closest I had come to buying one before only goes as far as googling “good bicycle for beginners.” That never got me too far. I always thought they were too expensive and I wasn’t sure what I even wanted in one. Besides wheels. I knew I wanted those. Two.

Craigslist was an option as well, or a used one from a shop. My only problem with those is you can’t do a “bike fax” on them and see their history. I wanted to get something I knew would last me a while and be safe.

So off to EMS I went. I was all like “I’m here to get a new hobby, I need a bike.” I was asked a few questions and the man realized I had no idea about anything and then brought out this beautiful Masi Vincere and I fell in love. It looked like an Italian sports car. He attached some pedals, fitted me to the bike, and put it on the trainer. I pedaled. I looked like a fool. It felt great.

So I was in a state of “This feels good… I think.” I mean it was a little uncomfortable, but I was also sitting weird and had no form what so ever. I just wanted to look at my feet. And the bike. It sparkled.

I was obviously confused so the man brought me two more bikes. One I said no to right away. It just didn’t “feel” right. Like I even know what it was suppose to feel like. The second one he brought out actually felt just as good as the Masi! Too good. It made me confused. By now my butt felt a little soar and I was exhausted from running that morning and actually working up a sweat.

I couldn’t make any decisions that day and it was literally my first time looking and bicycles so I left. Well I put the first and last bikes on hold, then left.

I did a little research on them, asked around, and then went skiing the next day. Up until then I was leaning toward the second bike, but on my fifth run down the mountain, I decided I should buy the Masi. Just like that.

I knew I passed EMS on the way home so how convenient was that. I was excited to get off the mountain. After all, the best part of skiing is taking off those uncomfortable ski boots and putting on running sneakers.

When I got to EMS, I took both bikes on hold out for a spin outside. The Masi, which already won in my mind, won that round as well. I felt like I could ride it all day. This is good considering I hadn’t been on a bike in about five years. It was questionable at times, but I was getting into it by the end! The other bike made me feel stretched out and I was constantly thinking that I should adjust myself. I figured that wasn’t a good feature in a bike.

So now this beautiful bike lives in my house. If I don’t end up ever doing a triathlon, I know it will be a great cross training device. My knees will thank me down the road for that. I’m looking forward to an winter of training inside before I actually hit the road and embarrass myself. Yay for trying new things!!!