I got a new bike this week and I'm already sort of in love. It's a steel-frame commuter bike - a 2009 Jamis Coda. Nothing about the bike was obviously sexy to me, but my husband found a really terrific deal on eBay, and it met all my specifications of being something light enough to ride around the city, but with a steel frame and low enough gears that I could use it for longer, fully loaded treks. After I covered what was a pretty cheesy tan and burgundy faux vintage paint job with some stickers and loaded it up with my rack and panniers left over from my 2000-mile Yukon trek, it started to look like something I could stand a second date with.
And then I rode it into Manhattan today and I feel in love. Since last May when my
aluminum Specialized cyclecross bike was stolen, I've been riding an authentically vintage Royal Scot , which while adorable, feels like pedaling a tank going up the bridges into Manhattan.
On the Royal Scot, I tried really hard not to care that everyone was passing me going uphill, but this afternoon on my way back home, it really did feel tremendous when I not only didn't get passed, but caught up and passed some dudes who had been cutting through lights ahead of me.
The Royal Scot has been lovely, and it's Hummer-esque mass gave me the chance to take in the city at a slightly more civilized pace. But it will be nice to be able to bike to the UWS and back without feeling like I've completed a mountain stage of the Tour de France.
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