A moment of weakness…

I’ve spent a good part of my adult life hanging out in my local bike shop. They are friends and I am jealous of what they do. I have bought many bikes there over the years. A couple of mountain bikes for me, my wife bought her road bike there and bought her mountain bike from one of said friends that works there. The friend? I’ll call her S here. For the last 3 years S has been trying to talk me into a new road bike. I know I should have a new one. My 1989 Canonndale that I bought used for $350 has served me well but as I’ve gotten older the rigid aluminum frame has painfully introduced me to every bump, pothole and crack in the roads of central Arkansas.

Well, L and I decided to go to Chainwheel, our local bike store or LBS, to purchase our yearly membership to Central Arkansas Recreational Pedalers or CARP. The membership allows us access to the great mountain bike trails at Camp Robinson. While there S talked L into some new road shoes and some socks. So while she was getting fitted I wandered into the road bike area and made the mistake of inquiring about the differences in some of the latest models. So to shorten this long story. I walked out with this little baby for the stable.

It is a Giant OCR-C3. I went from all aluminum to mostly carbon. Weighing in at 19 lbs, this sucker is light and agile. Two words never used to describe me. The hope is that some of it will wear off on me.

We left straight from my bike fitting to the river trail to put in a quick 10 miles on the new bike. I could tell immediately that my current abilities do not come up to the level of this bike. I guess that means I will have to ride it to deserve it.

The next day we still made our planned mountain bike ride at Camp Robinson. I was reminded again that no matter what kind of cycling you do, Central Arkansas has some awesome opportunities.