She is Back!

Ok, so I broke down today...sort of. As some of you may or may not know last year I was riding around on my modified Trek 7300. Now I say "modified" because I made some changes to it...probably changes that I should of avoided for it resulted in it's breakdown. The de-railer is stuck, the back tire has been worn down to the mesh, the brakes barely work, the rear rim is bent, the list goes on...To make a long story short my bike is at the point where it is dangerous to ride and would require some cash to bring back to speed. Don't get me wrong! The 7300 has been a wonderful bike that has gotten me to many places and has given me some awesome experiences (The Seattle to Portland race being one of them), but like any piece of equipment...it has it's life.

A few weeks ago an old 87 year old lady hit my car. Nothing serious...just a paint scratcher. However it was enough for me to make a claim with her insurance and take my car in to get repaired. Her insurance covered me for a rental vehicle for a day, but not two (my car was going to take two days to repair). So I rented my free rental car yesterday and b/c of i'm a cheapo I decided to return it today so I would not have to pay the second day out of my pocket. This action opened up a problem for me...how do I get around? It was time to get the old Trek 7300 out! I pumped up the tires, gave it an inspection, and got on and rode it to school and the shop. It was a beautiful Seattle day. The temp hovered in the 50's, the sun was out, and the wonderful scents of spring permeated the air. The first quarter of a mile felt great on my bike...then my legs started to ache and I was short of breath. Wow was I out of shape! My lungs burned, however I didn't care and kept myself at a fast pace loving the feeling of speed that I missed out on all winter. It was hard going down the hills...my gears are stuck in a high gear so I felt like I was on a fixie...my legs were spinning like crazy!

It felt good to get out! I've realized i'm a little out of shape from being indoors during the winter...but the new bike is around the corner! I can either wait a few weeks to a month to get a Madone, or get the 2.1 series tomorrow...both relatively the same price (thank you family discount), but the quality between the two bikes is night and day. I figure i'll reevaluate in 10 days. Either way...i'm getting excited!

-Jason

P.S. I got two more bike magazines in the mail today. Last month's issue had some amazing success stories in it. Check it out!