A year ago my life changed and I became a permanent member of the faculty at a fine institution. The weekend after I interviewed and before I got the job, Honey and I went to NorCal and I bought a bicycle. It was an impulsive decision.
Since then, I have ridden it, but not very much. I am, as some of you know, not an insubstantial person size-wise. In my brain, both consciously and subconsciously, I always kind of thought I might break the damn thing. It didn't help that the reviews of it on Roadbikereview cited a tendency for the carbon on the seat stay (that's the tube that runs at an angle from the bottom of the seat to the rear wheel) to break for no really good reason. And there I was giving it a reason to break.
I finally, with some help from Honey, who is wiser about me than I am, realized that my ongoing tweaking of the bike (saddles, stems, seatpost, etc.) was really a way to make myself feel better about the bike. I loved it, but I did not trust it. So, I strayed. I bought an all steel urban assault machine. No carbon weenie parts to break, no worries. That thing is a tank compared to the old one. Here it is. The color is called "bean green." :)
Last week, I listed the NorCal bike on ebay and it sold yesterday. I got less than I wanted (really, I kinda got hosed), but when I got home, I packed it up right away and had the box taped shut and ready to go before Honey got home.
No, she didn't get a chance to say goodbye. This morning I took it to UPS and sent it to its new home. Ironically, the buyer lives on NorCal, fairly close to where I bought it.
It's just an object really. A pretty one, but an object nonetheless. Why, then, am I sad?
The new bike hangs where the old one did on my bike rack. It's a blast to ride and on Sunday, I found myself jumping off little curbs on my tour de ducks. (Where I ride has a pond with ducks and geese at a great take-a-break point). I'll fall for the new one. I like it a lot already. I'll miss the idea of the old one. I hope its new owner loves it and rides it the way I never could.
4 comments:
That bike never quite found its groove in our household; it was always kind of an object, a pretty object, but never a family member. The new bike will undoubtedly insinuate itself into our fold, not least because it's bean-green, and I'm all about the earth tones.
It sounds as if you made a reasonable and rational decision based on real circumstance. Smart girl.
Sorry you got hosed on the sale, but I'm excited for your bean green bike! May you have a long and comfortable relationship. :)
Good for you, Sporky. You need a bike you can trust!
What a beauty, the bean-green machine!
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