Oh, my gosh, nothing better than a new bicycle except maybe a pony.

WEEEEEE!!!

Here is the New Bike Report Card.  Awesome, awesome, awesome. 

Now for some details.  I love the color, deep foresty green that has a mat finish, rather than the usual shiny.  This means it will less likely show up the odd ding or two, so I am told. 

The bike handles really well.  The turning ratio is tighter, thus making the bike far more responsive than the Red Roamer, my old Surly.  Wheelbase is shorter on the Sweetpea allowing for tighter turns and easier climbing out of the saddle.  It will take some getting use to as I was accustom to really pushing the handle bars from side to side when climbing to compensate for the bigger wheels and longer wheel base on Red Roamer.  The other big plus: because it is essentially a custom bike, my back does not hurt during riding and I am able to engage in proper pedaling.  It is geared low enough that I am able to completely rely on my legs and gluts rather than my back to help with motion.  This above all else has made this worth the whole project.  

Disc breaks ROCK!!  Oh man, the ability to slow down without having to crank down on the breaks is really saving my hands and wrists.  This also is important as I am just beginning to notice some issues with my wrists.  Not carpel-tunnel but some issues with adhesions in the right hand.  This does not decrease my grip strength at all, just shortens my endurance. I am currently getting some treatments for that which hopefully will reverse that.  Anyway so it’s nice to be able to rely on the precise machinery of the disc breaks and to not stress my hands more than they already are doing what I do for work.  Weee. 

I know there are some out there who would scoff at this idea, but this bike is ART.  Yes I will stand by that…I am riding AAAARRRTTTT.  :)

So first real ride was along the Banks, OR to Vernonia, OR rails-to-trails.  Round trip, 42 miles and a beautiful day for it.  Weather was hot, for Oregon.  And it was marvelous to be out with my beloved husband.  He ever so sweetly suggested the next tour we go on (after the one in June around Crater Lake) that we take 2 weeks off for a ride.  I was hoping more for 2 months.  : )

And here is some old bike poetry to inspire you all to ride more.  Heart Bikes!!

Exodus

This morning, flat out over the lost highway,

following the push through to another

and another, then another, eyes

still damp with sleep and greedy,

I carry the sun in my belly,

warm my center.

I reach forward, bent

over spinning wheels, distended over

melted layers of stone as immense

as the wide valley spreading

loosely below.

Scars in the sky seep through a bleeding dawn

staining the ground, revealing the shallows,

what to avoid.

Untied ends fall away.

I leave them behind

for I am moving

ever westward creeping upon

escaping horizons,

still becoming.

And here she is.  Yummy.