New Bike!

Did I need it?  Heavens no.  Do I feel like a million bucks riding it?  You better believe it!

And, in my defense, getting a new bike wasn't even my idea.  My old bike was fine and I hadn't even considered upgrading until my mom mentioned that she's like to have a bike to ride here in Utah... which led to Steve thinking that maybe Mom would like to buy my bike (which is a fab ride!)... which led me to weeks of review-reading and research... which led to the Civia Bryant.  Her name is Lickety. 

What's so cool about Lickety?  Well, besides looking so gosh darn smart, she is belt-driven.  That means she has a carbon fiber belt instead of a chain, which is cool because it's basically a 0-maintenance all-weather bike - good for crazy people like me who ride in all kinds of psycho weather.  Also, belts don't need lube, so they don't get your pants greasy ever.

The gearing is internal, like the old Rohlhoffs, so there are no external gears to get gummed up and the shifting is smooth and instant.

And I opted for a road bike-ish frame - the posture is still commuter-friendly, but I'll provide a little less wind resistance on my commutes.

But clearly the best part of my Civia package are the fenders.  It's ok, you can say it - Nice Fenders! 

Fenders are a necessity for me and I opted for the bamboo fenders and matching rack.  Silly?  Yep.  Love em?  You bet!

And how did all of this come about?  Well, after weeks of research I took a trip up to the Salt Lake bike stores on Friday to try out a few models that you can't buy down here in the valley.  Saturday Cycles was the last stop on my bike shopping tour and as soon as I rode Lickety around I was pretty sure she was the one.  The fab and very funny shop owner Mike graciously stayed open an extra hour to let me hem and haw and pick out accessories and noodle and hem and haw some more, and by Monday she was all ready for me to pick up!

I rode the train up to Salt Lake and Mike picked me up on a tandem from the Frontrunner station (an experience in itself!).  We did some fitting and fiddling and by 4 pm Lickety and I were ready to hit the road!  She definitely enjoyed the train ride home - you can tell by the way she's looking out the window.

She still needs her kick stand and new saddle (that stock saddle has got to go!), but other than that she's all tricked out for my commute.  Now, do you think I can beat last year's total of 3,000 miles?  I better get riding!