New Bike Day (#3)

She is a Specialized Jynx Expert 650b

Meet Sophia - the newest addition to our constantly growing (bike) family.

I hadn't exactly been in the mountain bike market for very long...or, well, at all. Patrick and his friends have been almost exclusively riding their mountain bikes lately, but due to my work schedule, I was never off when they were going riding anyway, so it never much mattered to me that I didn't have one.

Naturally, however, there was that tiny part of me that saw how much fun they were having and envied not being out there too.
A couple of months ago, Patrick and I agreed that we were going to split the cost of a mountain bike for my birthday in May. We picked out the perfect one!
 Early last week, we found out that Specialized was extending their Spring Savings sale which make the bike we'd be scoping out incredibly affordable. Since the sale was ending about a month before my birthday, we decided to move up our purchasing date to as soon as possible.

& she has 27.5" wheels

Unfortunately, a couple of days after that decision, Pat comes home to tell me that the bike we were looking out was sold out. And the worst part?! One of their customers ordered one of the last ones in my size! I was heartbroken.
But, at least their was less pressure on my wallet and our time crunch was over...

Today, I went with him to work at the bike shop (the dudes there are nice enough to let me mill around on my days off and "help" work on bikes). Before we opened, I see Pat rolling down the exact bike I had my eyes on and he tells me that it's for that other customer, but he wants to see if the sizing would be what I'd need to get. So I halfheartedly get on the bike to test it out.
He then tells me that it's actually mine!!! I spend the next couple of minutes half-crying, half telling him to stop messing with me before I decide to believe him. But alas, she is all mine!

I'm impressed by Patrick's ability to keep a secret (and a straight face). My work schedule has also changed, meaning we have a day off together again. Hitting the trails early next week & I cannot wait! All the camping! All the mountain biking! Could not be more excited for summer!

New! Bike! Day!

 I have been nearly bursting at the seams waiting for mail day to deliver my new bike. After a week that felt like an absolute eternity, she's finally here!

2016 will be my first full year of riding, my first year of training, and my first year racing the cyclocross season. I wanted a bike that I could swap the tires back and forth for road to off road. I ended up getting the Felt F85X. I couldn't be happier with my decision!

First things first, she is absolutely gorgeous. When I saw the picture on Felt's website, I wasn't entirely sold, but felt like I was "settling" for a bike with good components in my price range. After seeing her in person, she easily would have been my first choice all around. Whoever was in charge of the paint scheme did a killer job! All the little turquoise details hidden around her frame continue to amaze me. 

She has a full Shimano drivetrain that shifts like an absolute dream. I've never had handle bar shifting before and now I see what most prefer it. I've been able to gear a lot more efficiently on rides.

I've never had a ~new~ bike before. I think even as a child, all my bikes where either hand-me-downs or some sort of second hand. Which was completely fine! Before July, I couldn't have cared less about cycling. All of that changed when Pat bought me my first thrift store bike...

I am over the moon with my new bike. We got in a quick little 11 miles today, just to break her into some mud and road conditions. Almost crashed attempting my first bunny hop onto a curb, but I managed to get a couple of killer moving dismounts in.

I'm anxious for the weather to keep getting better and to get even further into my training.