My Fair Lady

As a reward for last years efforts, and to prepare for this years, I've spent the last six months looking for an awesome bike.

My recommendation when buying a bicycle for exercise is, spend enough that you'll wince every time you see it sitting in a corner unused.  If you only spend $100, $200 on a bicycle, and if you don't use it, you might not feel good, but you won't feel ridiculous.

Spend what you can expect to get out of it.

Figure out how much you spend a week on gasoline.  Multiply by 52 weeks, and add this to your cycling budget.  And when buying a bike, once a week, ride your bike to the market, beach, or coffee shop instead of driving.  

Figure out the cost of a decent gym membership - how much you'd pay to run on the hamster wheel for a year.  Add this to your budget.

Figure in the cost of entertainment... Pay $20 to see a movie and sit in a theatre, or go for a ride - AND get exercise as a bonus!  Or ditch your cable bill and go riding!

Figure in the health costs.  Blood pressure medication, cholesterol meds, Ambien. Liposuction, chiropractors, cardiac bypass.  Figure these costs into your budget.

In The Sims, your characters needs are measured by numerous indicators.  The best way to spend money is on something that meets multiple needs at once.  A bike can provide fun, social, exercise, and transportation all at once.

I spent six months looking at different bikes, trying different bikes, deciding what features were important.  I tried a number of light fast bikes, road bikes and flat-bar bikes, new and used.

I had a lot of trouble with road bike controls - could never remember which way to shift into gears. One of the bikes I tried had br end shifters - flip the lever up to shift up, down to shift down.  Simple, and i also liked the reliability and sturdiness of these shifters.

I ended up focusing on touring bikes and cyclocross bikes. They're both built for sturdiness and flexibility of function, good all-around bikes.

Eventually, I found a used trek 520.  The paint job was what sold me on it.  Everything else could be fixed, modified, or upgraded easily enough, but the paint job is the toughest to modify.  The 520 has a beautiful metallic copper flecked paint job, similar to my Fit.

Also, it is a very sturdy bike - steel frame, puncture resistant wheels and tires, extra sturdy rim and spokes, good quality shifters and components, and a rack included.