Without trying to curse everyone, I’m starting to wonder if we're going to have a real winter this year. Sixty degree weather is forecast this week, and I noticed confused daffodils and other plants sprouting in places. I don’t really like riding with cinders and salt piles lurking dangerously in some corners of the local streets, but there is no way that is keeping me off the road – I have a new bike to try out!
I know, most of you are thinking, “How many bikes does he have?” and the answer would probably be “Too many,” but I put them all to regular use. My mountain bike has an obvious specialty, and the cyclocross bicycle I refurbished last spring is intended for speed on the unpaved trails around here, but until recently the relaxed gearing of my Trek made it my security blanket while riding around the hilly Schuylkill Valley. It is also the bike I set up in the windtrainer over the winter.
On those occasional mild days we’ve had this winter, I have been taking out the Colnago, even on some more challenging climbs. After changing to a smaller front chainring and adjusting the derailleur for smoother shifting, I’m starting to enjoy the jump provided by the much lighter frame and components, even if I don’t have that “granny gear” left in case I bonk on some epic slope.
This brings me to the new bicycle, which had some friends doing double-takes when I mentioned a new “baby” on the way! Ever since son Carrick and I went to an endurance sports expo early last spring and saw some of the unreal new products available, I had been casually looking around Craigslist and eBay at Pinarello bicycles. I have always liked the wild, curvy rear stays and Onda front fork, but the bikes were usually way out of my price range, particularly since I already had a reasonable amount of money sunk into my stable of bicycles.
My fever only increased during my trip to Rome last May with my mom. While seeing the pros on Team Sky and Movistar flying by on their Pinarellos during a stage of the Giro d’Italia didn’t exactly calm me down, a visit to the Lazzaretti shop (see photos) had me absolutely drooling. I’m sure that none of the shop clerks was fooled into thinking that I was actually going to ride out of the store with one of their Dogma or Prince of Spain machines, especially with the $14,000 price tag on some of the full carbon fiber versions - the frame alone was $8000!
I was finding that, in combination with the lousy economy and folks needing cash, plus the release of more consumer-friendly versions of upscale bicycles, that I could find something I really liked without having to spend an insane amount of money. My cash reserves were greatly aided by a decision I had been struggling with since last fall, when I disassembled my large train layout. I found that not only was I really enjoying the open space of the renovated room and the freedom of leaving my bicycle/trainer set up, but my desire to put all the work into rebuilding the layout had completely gone away.
I had looked into joining up with a model railroad club or possibly some friends who were building a layout with similar geography to my old setup, so that I could save a few favorites from my collection and run them on their railroad. I am a board member and membership secretary for the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society, so my exposure to trains and modeling certainly wasn’t going away. I knew the models I had accumulated and/or built myself would fetch a nice sum that would allow me to not only purchase the bicycle I wanted, but would also make a nice contribution to the Larimer Travel Fund, since getting back to Europe is always a goal!
Over the last month or so I listed hundreds of items on eBay, and was somewhat surprised to raise nearly $4000! I then found a beautiful, lightly-used carbon fiber Pinarello FP2 listed on eBay for under $2000 (with FREE shipping!), and I knew that I probably wasn’t going to find a much better deal anywhere, since they go for over three grand regularly. Last week the big box arrived at my door, and I have been setting the bike up to my fit. I'll be changing out a few preferred parts here and there, but I’m aching to hit the road!
My bike...
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