New Wheels

One of the main reasons I lost to Jim G in last autumn's Great Tri Showdown was that he had a new spiffy road bike.

This year I decided to at least match, if not surpass him. After being in Hawaii and reading glossy ads with seductive copy in a tri magazine on the plane, my tri-geek lust was high. Matching was not an option: can you put a price on victory? or utter domination?

Thankfully, I have calmed down and bought this little number. It's a road bike with add-on aerobars (allowing the rider to stretch the arms into that scrunched/aerodynamic riding position); it is not a true tri-bike which has a more aggressive geometry and gear shifters out at the end of the aerobars. If my old bike is a Toyota Corolla, this pony is a Mustang. The Ferrari will have to wait.

It's not easy to buy a bike anymore: they don't come with pedals and one has to buy special shoes. Stock seats are considered virtually disposable. And the bike is really just the foyer into Grand Ballroom of attire and accessories.

I feel more and more like Andy Rooney with each passing day.