The Mud Dock in Bristol
I chatted to a few people to get some advice on the best make and type of bike to buy. As per usual I decided not to go half-heartedly and get a sub £1000 bike and save some cash. It would be a false economy for me as I guessed that in a couple of years I'd be yearning for a better bike.
Getting another Trek was a good idea as I could buy it from The Mud Dock, where I bought my mountain bike previously. Taking advantage of their good advice and free five star servicing for the lifetime of the bike would save me some money too, even if I was going to move away from Bristol. I can always take the bike somewhere else if I didn't have time to drop into Bristol at a later date.
I had to go to get fitted for a bike. It would a proper road racer, so it is a good idea to get measured up professionally on the bike. The Mud Dock has a very good measurement device to take my precise measurements, so the new bike can be initially set-up for myself. It isn't an exact science as each person does have his or her own preferences but it is a great start to how the bike should be set-up for myself.
Here's the torture device used for measuring for a new bike.
At one point in order to measure my inside leg measurement properly, I had to stand on the higher platform, lift the horizontal pole so that it sat very tightly on my crotch. Then step off the higher platform so that the pole was virtually supporting my weight! Fortunately the pole was spring-loaded; well they said it was spring loaded, because it was the stiffest spring that I've ever encountered. Standing down from the upper platform and then trying to stand flat-footed on the lower platform was quite uncomfortable and also very funny!
The rest of the measurements went without any problems and were considerably less awkward too. Fortunately my work place was very efficient in getting the Cycle to Work vouchers, and within a week I had the voucher and was ready to pick up my bike.
Where my bike was born.
As per usual picking up my new bike wasn't quite straightforward. During transit of my new bike the handlebars had managed to damage the carbon frame of the bike. Lucky for me it was only cosmetic damage and the shop kindly offered me £100 to spend in the store if I wanted to still take it. I could have asked them to reorder the bike or get a £100 discount on the next model up, which was £300 more. Seeing as the damage was purely cosmetic, and I didn't want to throw more money at the bike I went for the £100 of extra equipment that I knew that I would buy for the new bike.
My new bike!
I certainly hope that my tried and trusted mountain bike won't get too jealous of my new road bike. The road bike is certainly getting preferential treatment right now. I often think of the mountain bike as a rough and tough male bike, and the road bike as a slight female bike. Hopefully they'll get along fine together. I'll certainly be getting plenty of use out of both of them in the years to come.
Since getting the bike home it's done nothing but rain and blow strong winds all weekend. It's now three days since I got the bike and I've still not had the chance to ride it outside. Hopefully I'll be able to play with my new toy tomorrow after work, or on Tuesday.
Oh, and on less important news, I'm going to be moving out of my house before June 20th. I've already let out this place and need to find somewhere to live closer to work!
