I went for a ride at about 7:30pm. I haven't been out on my own much at all in the last few weeks. For a couple of weeks I didn't have a light, but I've had no excuse since then. I thought I'd been discouraged by the cold and rain, but have I? I don't go riding in the rain at night in the winter, as once you get wet it's just too cold, but I don't mind the cold when it's dry (though I could have done with another layer last night!). I think it's Jake. Since I rode the frickin' daisy demo bike, I've realized just how bad Jake is. No matter how well lubed the chain is, there's always a squeak coming from it. Amy's cross bike was so much smoother and faster, and I rode it with knobby tires, and it's way too big. And it's not just that Jake is critically ill and too big, but I have a feeling that, even when new, the ride was terrible. It's a good job I've not got any fillings, as I'm sure they'd be gone by now. I expected the daisy to have a rougher ride because of the skinny tires, but it was so much smoother. It's the frame too, I guess, and Jake has a cheap aluminium frame, built for durability, and it's got a ridiculously heavy and unforgiving steal fork. I swear it must have been designed as a dirt jump fork. It even looks like a BMX fork. And no amount of fiddling has allowed me shift into the big ring since it came back from the bike shop.
So I need a new bike. Not news, I know. I've been complaining about Jake for about 4 months now. I can't afford a new bike yet, probably not until the new year, but I know that once I've got the money I won't be able to decide on a bike. Trawling manufacturer websites, magazine reviews and forums is the fun bit. But it doesn't really help. I'm pretty much limited to Specialized and Cannondale. The bike shop sells Kona, Norco, Specialized and Cannondale.
I don't want a Norco. Their bikes appear heavy and cheaply made. I'm sure their freeride and dirt jump bikes are fine, but Norco road bikes? No thanks. They don't make anything that fits the bill anyway. The CRD 2 is the only Alu road bike they make, and it's got a Shimano 4500 group set.
Kona? Again, a mountain bike company that is trying to "branch out". I've never been keen on Kona. They do seem well specced for the price though. The "Zing" is $1300 CAD, and has a 105 group set, and Mavic Askiums. All the "bits" are cheap and unbranded (or branded "Kona"), but so what. It's probably on the big side, and I don't care for the paint scheme, but the same goes for the Norco.
I wouldn't buy a Cannondale mountain bike. I don't see anything wrong with their road bikes though. I read a comment on a forum about Cannondale's being famous for their poor ride quality, but only the one - he/she is probably a brand snob. So, a Synapse 5 is $1200 US, with a 105 group set, with Shimano RS-10 wheels, which are, apparently, a bit noodley. The CAAD9 5 is $1700 with a similar spec.
The Specialized stuff seems more pricey, but not by much. The Allez Sport is $1300 US, with 105 and CPX22 rims on specialized hubs, which should be very durable, but very heavy. 
Strangely though, the equivalent "women's" bikes are more expensive, with the Dolce Comp having the same spec, but costing $1650 US. That's a lot of money for a smaller bike with an uglier paint scheme.
Yes, I did notice the Dolce has carbon stays, but for me that's a disadvantage. Cannondale's "feminine" bikes cost the same as their male equivalents. But why buy a girl's bike when I'm going to end up changing the bars and stem anyway? The daisy was probably a touch too small, so a 515-520 mm top tube with the same size bars and stem would be fine, right? And no "floral patterns" (to quote Brian).
I feel obliged to buy from the shop (rather than pick one up from, say, Oak Bay Bikes in Victoria, where everything's cheaper and they have a much bigger selection). I'm always in there picking Brian's brain (that's an anagram!), and Dale's does loads of stuff for me. I wouldn't mind at all paying for labour for stuff I need doing on a bike bought somewhere else, but I'd feel ... disloyal. But it's Will's bike shop, not Brian's or Dale's or Derek's or Matt's, and I've no loyalty towards Will.
When I mentioned a new bike last Sunday, Glenda immediately said I should get an Everti. If I had the budget for a $1600 frame, that would be the only frame worth considering (I even checked Kurt's website, and they do the Odyssey cross frame stock in my size!). Titanium would be perfect: durable, excellent ride quality, long life, light weight, sexy ...
Anyway, back to my Wednesday ride. I rode along Richard's trail, Westholm Road (I think), back towards Crofton. The main intention of this ride was to take photos of the Crofton Mill, so I pulled over and got my tripod and camera out, only to realize i couldn't put the two together as I'd forgotten the quick release bracket. While I was stood there an alarm started to go off. A couple of trucks pulled up to a hopper with the flashing red light on top. They just stood around, so I rode on, only having been able to get crap, grainy, underexposed pictures at a high ISO. I passed a fire engine coming in the opposite direction. A guy in a soft-topped muscle car (it was dark - I couldn't tel which one) with licence plate "LOVE BG" sped past me, only to brake in font of me and pull over 5m in front of me. Why couldn't he pull over behind me? It's not like he didn't see the fire engine coming? (That's the one thing that bothers me most about the whole drivers verses riders thing - drivers passing on the left and turning right immediately in front. Honestly, it can't be more that a 3 second wait at most. It's dangerous too, especially in the rain when I can't stop.) When I rode past the fire station in Crofton, I saw about 5 men in their fire-fighting kit, ready to go out if they got called.
I did get a bit cold with two layers on my body. It's very chilly at night now, and it's a challenge to keep my fingers from freezing. Jake felt heavy up the hills, and I was still spinning going down them. I never put my light on full beam - I didn't go fast enough to warrant it.
Distance: 34.3 kmTime: 1:44 (slow poke!)
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