I’m getting ever closer to 1000 miles on the new bike.. 913 miles as of today and 407.85 this month so far (31.3 miles per day). If I keep up the 30+ miles per day average I’ll actually hit 1000 miles in a month for the first time in forever. Granted I just started riding again for the first time in a few years this past October or so, but still… 1000 miles in a month is quite a bit for a bicycle. The only gay part about my bike is that if I ride it for long periods of time, my right elbow starts to hurt when I bend it. I don’t know exactly what’s causing it, but I hate it. I think part of it is the fact that the bike is a bit too big. That’s about all I can come up with.
As it stands, I’m debating working on getting another bike more suited to commuter duties. Commuting on my road bike is much like driving a Porsche 911 Turbo to get groceries. It’s not really practical. I can’t put a rack, panniers or fenders on it at all. I’m looking at a few bikes that can accomodate such things and they’re varying from $700-1500. My only problem is the one that I really really want is $1500, however I don’t really NEED such a bike. The lower-end ones would do perfectly fine. However, the $1500 one is just so damned nice! Hydraulic disc brakes, carbon fiber fork, seatstays, seatpost and handlebars. Armadillo tires… rack & fender mounts. Yummy stuff! Granted, I don’t really NEED the bike, but it’d be great to have. Lighter and faster than my MTB, more versatile than my road bike. I’d still use the road bike for just getting out and riding around and riding with the club and stuff. I’d just use the “city bike” for commuting to and from work, going to the store, etc. Stick a rear rack and some nice Ortlieb panniers on it and I’d be all set. The nice thing would be that I could load up the panniers with some clothes and other stuff and just take a ride somewhere 100 miles away, stay the night, change clothes, come back. Basically short touring. Yup, I’m officially a bike geek. I have about $3700 in bike stuff as it stands (maybe more if you count clothes and other gear) and don’t even hesitate to think about spending another $1500! I wonder if there’s something like AA for bike geeks?