Sunday

For those of you who didn't know this: Harrisonburg is hilly. Maybe not as hilly as Staunton, but it's still hilly. One of the things I tell people who are contemplating beginning to ride: You learn little ways of getting around town that avoid the worst traffic and the worst hills. I have dedicated the last two years of my life to that mantra - finding the ways around town that avoid the worst hills and the worst traffic. But, still - it's Harrisonburg. You're gonna go up some hills, and in time, your legs do get stronger.

Sunday there was a big organized bike event where a bunch of people met at Court Square then rode their bikes about 8 miles from town to a farm, and then rode around a gravel loop that was 14 miles or so. I've mentioned that I normally try to avoid the worst hills, right? Well, the route the leaders of this ride chose to get out of Harrisonburg took us right up some of the most monsterous hills in town - hills that it is part of my mission in life to avoid. Add into it that I ride a mountain bike, and there was no way I could keep up with the pack. Then, to add insult to injury, the ride went right past my house. If I would have known that was the route they were going to follow, I would have waited for them at the corner. LOL! I might actually try going that way again sometime to strengthen my legs. I was actually pretty proud of how well I took some of those hills - considering I usually make it my buisness to avoid them. Though, the last really massive hill I had to climb - I had to drop all the way down to my lowest gear. My legs were trembling. It just wasn't a beautiful thing. If there had been another hill, I don't think I could have made it.

I have a migrane coming. My muscles and joints are hurting, and once again, I just couldn't do it at the gym this morning.

I am having disk brakes put on my bike on Friday. Why? Says here that disk brakes perform equally well in all kinds of weather. I bet they also don't scream like a dying goose when they're wet like my current brakes do. One of my neighbors actually complained to the landlord about the noise my brakes sometimes makes. It's loud. People stare. I am sometimes out on my bike after 11:00 pm. Having brakes that can be as loud as a car horn is a problem. Plus, riding in the rain just makes me nervous. I'm not worried about skidding. I ride a mountain bike. I've got awesome traction. I worry about my brakes - especially going down hill. I think every bike commuter has had the lovely experience of having a car pass them like their existence depends on it, and then they realize there's not one full car length between you and that stop sign. So, they cut right in front of you inches from your front tire. I've actually run into the back of a car because of that. If I hit my brakes, I need the bike to stop. I don't always have the luxury of giving myself plenty of stopping distance. So, if I know there's going to be a lot of rain, I still tend to take my car because of all of this. I want to be able to tell Big Oil to kiss my ass this summer. So, I'm getting disc brakes put on my bike.

Disc brakes are expensive. Putting disc brakes on my bike is going to cost more than 1/2 of what it would cost me to just replace the bike. I seriously considered just replacing the bike. But, my next bike isn't going to be a mountain bike, and it is my mountain bike I'm most likely to ride if the weather is less than wonderful. My next bike will probably be a Giant Roam 1. I've test rode it a couple of times. When I went to Florida I wanted to rent one for the week, but the closest they had was a Specialized Crosstrail. I loved that bike (hated the saddle). It had all the features that I truly love about my mountain bike (flat handle bars, front suspension, etc), it had close to the stability of my mountain bike, but it is a lot lighter than my mountain bike and capable of a lot more speed. Sometimes I just really get pissed off at everyone passing me.

The Local Bike Shop I usually frequent - the bike shop that taught me how to ride a bike - doesn't carry Giant or Specialized. They carry Trek and Gary Fisher. The nearest Trek equivelent of the Giant Roam 1 is $200 more. They've tried to convince me that what I really want is a flat bar road bike. Road bikes don't have front suspension. I'm very devoted to the cause of front suspension. I have an old back. Hitting railroad or potholes tracks without front suspension sucks. I also ride in enough iffy areas that I don't think I'd feel safe on a road bike. They also tried to sell me on the idea of a 29 inch mountain bike which is heavier than the Roam or Crosstrail. Also, all of Trek's 29ers are built to Gary Fisher specs, and Gary Fisher is not a comfortable fit for me. So, sometime in the next few months, I'm considering doing something that feels incredibly disloyal - buying a bike from another shop.