Not to be morbid, but for my first experience without clip/toe cages, I headed to a cemetery to spin around and enjoy the learning process. The new system is a lot easier than I expected and it grants a full cycle of leg push & pull. This will hopefully provide much needed muscular balance.
ANTICIPATION
This word captures clipless.
Being alert, not zoning out, and
expecting the unexpected in various circumstances.
expecting the unexpected in various circumstances.
Still...
Cemetery-riding risk rating: low.
Cemetery-riding risk rating: low.
Commuter-hour riding risk rating: high.
On my inaugural ride I heard a new sound that was not present before the tune up. So, back to the bike shop. so they culd finish what they started. They'd accidentally left some of their screws loose (pun intended for comic effect) and found that the derailleur chimed against the spokes like a mechanical harpsichord—but only with weight and forward motion.
Buchika's fixed it on the spot and with great customer service. The mechanics are a lot of laughs and didn't flinch when I asked if they had any handlebar tape in HOT PINK leopard. The catalogs came out, we flipped through pages of tape from various suppliers but no such luck. Not giving in too easily to defeat, they uncovered a bin—a time capsule—of 1980's fluorescent plastic handlebar tape (green, pink, etc.) stored along with dusty VHS copies of Breaking Away and American Flyers.
Plastic tape in those colors? I thought about it, considered it seriously, but couldn't do it. It would have felt like installing neon windshield wiper blades on a Jaguar. Versus the stylish, possibly Italian inspired, cork leopard print. That would fit.
Buchika's fixed it on the spot and with great customer service. The mechanics are a lot of laughs and didn't flinch when I asked if they had any handlebar tape in HOT PINK leopard. The catalogs came out, we flipped through pages of tape from various suppliers but no such luck. Not giving in too easily to defeat, they uncovered a bin—a time capsule—of 1980's fluorescent plastic handlebar tape (green, pink, etc.) stored along with dusty VHS copies of Breaking Away and American Flyers.
Plastic tape in those colors? I thought about it, considered it seriously, but couldn't do it. It would have felt like installing neon windshield wiper blades on a Jaguar. Versus the stylish, possibly Italian inspired, cork leopard print. That would fit.
Dear Universe,
Please send some leopard print handlebar tape.
I would purr almost as loudly with some zebra tape.
With Affection,
The Trail Pixie
The Contenders
Can I wear a
watermelon print hemet
with my Bianchi?
watermelon print hemet
with my Bianchi?
Why the fruit salad not!
3 comments:
I have the exact same bike (only mine is a few years old)! It has given me a lot of good miles on the roads. I have plain old black tape on my handlebars. But I do have a crazy pink cycling top I wear sometimes.
Definitely get a good helmet! I just ordered a Gyro Zen, which is really a MT bike helmet, but I'll use it for my road bike as well. My old helmet seems to be cracked. :)
You are a rock star, my friend. :)
Are you running anything soon? Wanna come here for a run through the woods soon? Maybe we can convince Mich to come and have a girl's day :)
Hurray for biking! I love clip in pedals! Be careful out there!
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