I picked up my new bike Wednesday night from Jim at Hiawatha Cyclery courtesy of my friend Jason dropping me off at the shop. Well, I’m glad I have a commuter worthy bike. Between the time my bike got stolen and today, I had 100 excuses not to ride, 100 reasons to be somewhere, and a 100 bikes on hand to use or borrow. What I really wanted was my Trek, and I was hurting pretty bad. I think this Breezer will fill the role nicely.
Most people I know, don’t bike as much as I do - or rather, don’t bike as their primary means of transportation. Here’s what I had at my disposal. Included were reasons I didn’t want to ride them:
- Huffy Mt. Bike: This was set for winter mode, and I really didn’t want to ride a mountain bike around town in the summer… not one that’s so heavy.
- Huffy Beach Cruiser: Had to install a bike rack so it was commuter worthy. Can’t really bike to work without a rack.
- Katie’s Bike: I rode it once into work. It’s setup properly, but the dimensions aren’t for me.
- Coworker’s Specialized Road Bike: Felt too expensive… I’m not used to road-bikes. Not a commuting bike, etc, etc.
- Cannondale F400: This is a pretty sweet, light mountain bike that my brother found. It’s small, it’s a woman’s bike, it’s not set for commuting and needed a lot of work. But it was an interesting find. Might turn that into a hybrid for Katie if I can figure it out.
I’m sure there were more offers, but most people don’t have commuting bikes. They either have mountain bikes, or road bikes, but nothing well suited for commuting, even though a lot of bikes get repurposed for just that. So it’s no wonder why I’m the first person to pick up the nerdy looking Breezer from Hiawatha Cyclery.
Sure, it’s the nerdy bike. It’s really good at what it does, but it doesn’t look fast or zippy, but it looks smart. It’s bright green (not Midnight Blue like I had wanted, but not bad either), has all the bells and whistles to dorken it up: rack, fenders, bell, generator-lights. It’s a 3-speed internal shifter. And it’s begging for some new toys (since all my old ones were stolen with my bike).
Since Jason dropped me off, I had 7 miles to cruise through town through Minnehaha Parkway. I was dressed up slightly, but no need to worry, this bike had a chain guard. Jim gave me directions to the Parkway as well as a complimentary water bottle and cage to keep me hydrated (or at least give me the option of hydrating myself). It’s an excellent place to try out a new bike with plenty of hills and curvy roads.
My first adjustment which was immediate was the 3-speed internal shifter. I immediately felt like I could graduate to 7-speeds if I had the money, but at the same time, there’s a comfort in having only three choices: low going up hill; medium on flat surfaces; and high going down hill. Took some getting used to the grip shifter (I kept wanting the gears to shift backwards). The toughest part with three speeds is some hills could have used a lower gear, the higher gear could have been higher, but I made do. I think I’ll be fine with this though. Especially for in town errands. I’ll also have to get used to a diamond frame. My Trek had a downward sloping top-tube that made stoplights pretty easy.
I need to get used to the bell, it’s something I know I should have, but never got. Now I have it, so I can finally use it. I hate having to alert people to my presence. I really like the ring lock that locks the back wheel. So many days do I pull my bike out, and realize, crap, I need to get something from the house before I leave. Now I can easily free lock it.
As for the toys, I’m really excited that Performance Bike is having it’s double points weekend. I plan to score a grocery pannier, some tool packs, tools, and maybe a bike computer for new ride. I still have a gift certificate for the store too, so I’m in luck.
Before I start going on adventures, time to record the serial number and keep it safe (and probably leave the numbers with Jim).