My birthday present from V came on the scene a few days early. There was long discussion about what I wanted, which has lasted weeks; I’m hard to shop for, so I’ve heard.* Finally, the thought popped into my head – what about another bike?

Bicycles are like shoes, it seems. The Beast is something like a pair of Doc Martin’s – strong, heavy, passable in just about every situation, though perhaps not totally appropriate. A new bike could be more like some running shoes, a bit lighter, sleeker, less utilitarian. And yes, something I could show up to a group ride with and not feel like the Jebidiah the Bicycle Pariah.

So I ended up with a road bike as a birthday present. I had a long talk with the folks at Wheelworks about my requirements, and our price range – this baby needs to be able to handle my commute (I’m not willing to sacrifice that much utility), and I ended up riding out with a new silver Specialized Allez. Definitely near the bottom of the line, but just what I’m looking for. It’s a different riding experience for sure.

The Beast stays in the stables and comes out if I need to haul stuff or the weather is bad; he gets some fenders as soon as I can afford them. I’m also keen on a fixed gear bike, but that is a long term project. Robb described the fixed as the most UNIXy of bicycles; how can you resist that?

The metaphysical question of why I’m so focused on cycling, and on a broader level with the more physical components of living. I think that in large part it’s to provide balance to the increasingly mental nature of my work, but there’s more to it than that. With luck I’ll learn more.

*My grandfather is even harder to shop for. The safest gift is any movie with Harrison Ford in it (except for Blade Runner). The family sighed in relief when he finally got a DVD player as we could replace the Harrison Ford VHS tapes with Harrison Ford DVDs.