Pimping my Ride

I had a cold for about a month. I'm still not breathing well, though dedicated readers will note that I'm blaming my current lack of lung capacity on the (dum dum dum) Santa Ana winds. I've been a bad girl and haven't exercised in more than a month. I can't sleep and usually can't wake up in a timely way.

This week I put my big toe back into the exercise water by bringing my mountain bike to campus to ride it to meetings and lunches. I know I'm off fundamentally when the ride from the bottom of campus to the top takes all the wind I have.

Honey claims I shop too much. I may (studies pending) have gotten this from my mother. Where I have trouble (and my mother doesn't) is the internet strikes me as a terrific place to shop and there it is, in front of me for much of the day.

I love the MTV show Pimp My Ride. I toy with pimping my Saturn Vue, and have done a few pimpy things like upgraded the sound system, added carbon fiber accents, gotten rubber floor mats, etc. It's not pimp. But it's pimpier than stock.

My real pimp my ride desire shows in my bikes. I look at them (and at Honey's godhead carbon fiber dream machine set up for her riding pleasure on the trainer in the living room) and imagine what I could do. No flames or custom paint, but upgrades galore.

The Cannondale mountain bike deserves better wheels, disc brakes, and better handlebars. But it's my used Trek road bike that really wants for pimping. I bought it in South Carolina on a whim. I like it a lot, but we're uneasy with one another, the bike and I. I trust it to haul me around, but have doubts. And since I bought it used, I have no guarantee from Trek, just faith.

Honey says it rides fine, should last me a long time, and that I should just relax.

My shopper/pimp voice says I need things for the bike. Today I found new brifters for the bike for a great price. They're black, sleek, and cool. Brifters, for those of you who haven't ridden a road bike in a while, are the brakes, but they also have a mechanism to shift the bike built in. Whoo, I thought, those are really cool. I love a deal. And they were HALF PRICE! And...I had a COUPON! Then I thought, well if I buy the brifters, maybe I should get new handlebars, too. I have an aluminum bike, which is good, given my size. Aluminum is not the most forgiving metal. I've toyed with the idea of carbon handlebars, which should dampen road vibration. Now, if I buy the brifters, I'll need to have them installed. Why not have handlebars installed at the same time, since brifters get clamped onto the handlebars? Good plan! More shopping/pimping. I start reading reviews, looking on sites.

Honey's eyes will roll up in her head. The brifters are coming. As for he handlebars...not yet, but I'm still looking. I'm thinking Kestrel bars. Carbon=pimpy.

So, I haven't gotten on my road bike in over a month, and can't ride half a mile without getting winded right now, but I'm ready for good shifting and (perhaps) a smoother ride from the handlebars.

I've got to pimp my ride!