I weighed the bike (which -- with wheels, stem, and seatpost installed -- now weighs in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces: looking good so far). Then I hung it back up and snapped a picture, thinking I could post it here so the whole innertubes can see my shiny new bike.
And then I did the unthinkable.
I set the picture as my phone wallpaper, bumping a shot of Quicksilver, who has been my phone mascot since ... well, since I though, "Duh, I can put a picture of MY BIKE on my phone desktop!"
Immediately, I began to feel ... well, a little dirty. A little unfaithful.
You know ... kind of like I had just bumped a picture of my loving spouse and replaced it with one of some new paramour (a younger paramour, to boot!).
I justified the move by telling myself it's a pretty cool picture -- a row of bikes, all neatly hanging out in the shop -- and that the shot of QS, while interesting to me by virtue of the fact that it's, you know, a picture of Quicksilver, is not as good. I told myself that I'd switch back, once I get a comparably-awesome shot of QS (preferably in action, preferably without me looking like the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man). Yet, deep inside my heart of hearts, I knew that at least part of my motivation was simply that the new bike looks hot. Period. As Billy said, "Aero tubing is just sexy."
I began to fear that somehow, mysteriously, Quicksilver would know. I am firmly of the opinion, after all, that bikes have feelings (speaking of which, QS seems to have grudgingly accepted The Rack ... for now).
Perhaps this is why, upon arriving home around 1:30, I immediately took QS out for a good, fast spin around the neighborhood (flat and close to home, like I promised DD).
Perhaps this is why, immediately upon arriving home again, around 3:00, I disassembled my beautiful steel steed and cleaned the bejeezus out of him. If I'd had a chain tool, I would even have taken off the chain and properly de-greased it, but I don't have one at home, so instead I just ganked the kitchen sponge, rinsed it really, really well, and scrubbed the chain as best I could with the sponge and one of my bike brushes. I even got most of the schmutz off the small ring, which is a pain in the neck with the array of cleaning things I had handy.
...Oh, remind me to buy a new kitchen sponge...
Admittedly, the QS needed the frenetic cleaning job. Even though I'm pretty religious about cleaning QS, I had noticed some spots that could get cleaner, and the roads are still salty, so it was warranted. Also, I am likely to ride with Other Cyclists this weekend, so it wouldn't do to ride a salty bike.
None of this changes the fact that somewhere, deep inside, some part of me feels seriously guilty for two-timing on Quicksilver.
Billy's plan is to fit up each of my bikes to serve a specific purpose (we've decided that Swift is really too heavy to be competitive as a 'cross racing bike, so 'Swift is going to be a 'cross training bike, guest bike, and fire-road bike). Perhaps knowing that Hg is to be purpose-built (for now) as a light, fast touring mount will assuage Quicksilver's ego.
Perhaps not. QS does seem to be a bit of a prima donna. We shall see.
That's okay, though. I love that bike more than anything I have ever owned. I love the new bike too, but honestly I don't think anything -- anything -- can ever compare to your first really good road bike.
In other news, it felt amazing today to ride in shorts. I went out in shorts and my long-sleeved neon-green jersey (which is technically a running jersey, but works really well on the bike) and breathed the Spring-scented air, which smells like thawing earth, and reveled in the feel of it running over my (disturbingly hairy) legs (time to shave -- I've let it go long enough to be noticeable). I kicked the bike into 53 x 17 and did a few sprint intervals. I felt like a colt gamboling in the new grass. It was, in a word, awesome.
Oh, and in case you want to see it, here's the picture of my paramour:
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| From CyclingStuff |
I'm thinking either all black-and-silver, or red saddle and tape, to match QS.
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