Monday, April 24, 2006

More bicycling-try 2

Blogger is acting up today, this post appeared 3 times and then disappeared totally. Let's try again...

Lest you be too dismayed, I took the seatpost in to the bike shop. They looked at it and said it shouldn't have broken. It will be covered by warranty and I will get a new one. Meantime, they gave me another one to use. It isn't carbon, but that's ok.

So, you ask, what is the big deal about carbon? It absorbs bumps and smooths out the ride. So why did I not get a carbon frame, then? I tried a carbon frame last spring. I borrowed it from a friend when we were in Minneapolis last year, visiting our son. I put about 200 miles on it. Man, it is fast! But, I didn't like the ride. You don't feel the road, except when there is a big bump, then it is jarring. With steel, you feel the road better and the big bumps are not as jarring. When I say steel, I actually mean a hybrid like chrome-molybdenum. It weighs a pound or two more, but I prefer the ride. Debbie has an aluminum bike, and it is nice, but I don't like the ride as well. A friend of mine told me to try titanium. I looked at the price of frames and said, no way. I don't want to put that much money into a bike. If I did, it would become an idol to me. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be." I don't want my treasure to be in a bicycle! Or a library, for that matter, and that is a tougher one for me, especially working for a bookseller.

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