No Training Wheels!

I've taken the plunge, and finally bought a bike.

There's (almost) no turning back now (except massive public humiliation - but I'm generally ok with that if necessary).

My new bike is a work of technical art - a LeMond Alp D'Huez.

I put more time into buying this bike than I did my last car - and the process was more personal than my last physical (if you know what I mean).

First there were a series of measurements - hand size, arm length, shoulder width and inseam (turn, cough).

Then a computer ran all the numbers to determine the right configuration of bike sizes.

Next, the shop (Skiis and Biikes - great guys for both products) brought in two different bikes for me to try.  Oddly enough I went in looking at a Trek 2.1 - and was generally convinced that was the one I would walk out with - but the LeMond (last years model) was a lot smoother and more comfortable (no it doesn't have a bigger seat) - so I went with it after riding them both around for a couple of hours.

Finally I bought a bag of stuff (pedals, shoes, spare tube, water bottles, etc.) to go with the bike and am now just waiting for the shop to finish giving it a final once over before I head out -- hopefully this weekend.

Incidentally (but not insignificantly) the real learning was that my butt already hurts after only a couple of hours testing the two bikes -- I definitely think I need to do some serious conditioning in that region of my anatomy before the ride.