My new bike

I bought a new bike today. I’ve wanted this one for years and finally saved enough (and found a good enough excuse to spend the $$) to get it. I moved to Miramar late last year and, while I love my little Bianchi mixte, she’s just a bit small to be comfortable for the entire 10km commute. Plus a mixte has similar geometry to a road bike, and I find them a hard on my neck. So I haven’t been riding for a while and, surprise surprise, I got sick this winter for the first time in years.

Comfort won’t be an issue with the new bike. It’s a couch with pedals. And it’s huge. I rode it home from Burkes and I could see over the top of most of the traffic.

It wasn’t cheap – $2,300 on the ticket but Ben at Burkes gave it to me for $2,000. Considering what I spend on bus fares I’ve worked out that it will pay for itself in a year – or a little more cos I’ll still be on the bus on the super windy days!

So what do I get for my money? Heaps. 28 inch wheels, dynamo lighting front & rear, fully enclosed chain case, coat guard, 8 internal gears (no more derailleur!) Axa lock, parcel rack, Brooks saddle, leather grips, mudguards with front mudflap, and an awesome ding-dong bell.

It’s not light, and getting it in my slightly tricky front door takes a bit of effort, but the weight makes it very stable.

On the way home from the bike shop I ran into a friend who took it for a spin. He commented that riding it is an entirely different mindset than riding a mountain or road bike, even one set up as a commuter. He’s right. Somehow – and this is a bit odd – it doesn’t feel like ‘riding a bike’. It just feels like transport. I can’t quite explain it, except to say that I now totally get the European bemusement with ‘bike riding’. It is an entirely different experience.

Heaven, thy name is Gazelle.