I Whip The Wind...And The Wind Whips Back

Late last night we made it out to the Bike Store but the wind was already so strong that the Mechanic, Mike, advised us against hoisting our bikes on the car trunk rack. After deciding that I didn't want to bother with dismantling wheels etc to get the bikes inside the car, we sadly agreed that it was the better part of virtue to leave them. Since I have a very busy schedule at work today, that means I won't have our bikes back until Wednesday (if it doesn't snow as predicted!)That meant getting out on the Citizen again this morning which was certainly no punishment. I actually do love riding the little thing. So out I went in the 18 degree, -1 wind chill morning. No problem with the cold except for one finger on my right hand that came home more numb than I would have liked. I'll have to put another layer of gloves on somehow even under my up-to-now very sufficiently warm gloves! But the wind!! The trip out was into a sustained wind of over 20 mph with gusts probably in the 40 mph range. It was work, especially on 20" wheels. But it was fun. However I have to admit I wimped a bit and gave up at the U.S. Grant Statue which is yields round trip of 9 miles for the day. Funny thing I expected the trip back to be a breeze (pardon the pun) and it was, but not because of a tail wind. Rather the wind seemed to stop altogether. This made me regret not going all the way to the bridge. But it was a good ride and I will not be greedy.



Anyway back to yesterday: First we went to Mikes Bike Shop in South Philly that someone recommended to us. I forgot to take my camera so I don't have a picture of Mikes, but Mike was a really nice guy and he showed us a couple of Schwinn's that interested us. Super Sport series I think it was called. The bike he had in stock was the bottom of that line and we didn't love it, but the top of that line interested us but is sold out in the size we need (that is, not available from the national distributor.) New models may be available in April. So we moved on to Bustleton Bikes to see what Pete had brought in for us after our conversation the other day. So we (actually I, since it was dark and really windy already and Annie didn't feel comfortable riding) took the Fuji Absolute LX on a test ride. It was love at first ride! Such a different feel from the heavy Navigators. I rode it around and around, testing the gears, changing the seat height, trying my best to get a fair feel under less than the most pleasant conditions. Well, I bought it. I also tested the Trek FX3, but there was no comparison. The Trek was a bit lighter than our Treks but didn't feel nearly different enough to warrant changing bikes. Well I hope I will be happy since I am Absolutely (forgive yet another unintended pun!) not buying another bike for a loooooooong time. For those of you who are familiar with this saga from the beginning (see blog post #1) this will make the sixth bike in less than twelve months - and the last. Meanwhile, since Annie didn't ride she will try mine out when the weather is a little more favorable and I think she'll join me on the Absolute LX. You can see it at Check it out