A friend who does triathlons made a joke once that you can't spend less than $50 on anything involving cycling- even a water bottle.
And as far as I can tell, that's pretty much true. You'd think plunking down $1500 or $2500 on a road or tri bike would have you out the door, flying down some rural highway at 80mph, but you'd be wrong. Nooooohhhh... if you want to fly down some rural highway at 80mph without damaging your knees or nerves or getting horrible neck strain, you have to get said bike fitted (for another $300 or so, according to this NYT article).
Now don't get me wrong. I do an hour of spinning (riding on an indoor exercise bike with a group) twice a week. I know how uncomfortable a poorly adjusted bike can be. I've tinkered around with mine quite a bit this fall, and I still can't get through a ride without my knees down going numb. This does not make for a very effective final sprint.
I really really enjoy biking, but I don't have and probably won't buy (at least not until my future children are out of college) a good road or tri bike because it's just so darn expensive. The bikes are expensive, and they break, and maintenance is expensive. The fitting is expensive. The clothes are expensive. It's totally insane. I'd love to know if there's another sport out there that's more expensive than cycling. I'm having a hard time thinking of one. SCUBA? Gold collecting?
On a completely unrelated note, the high here today was 19 degrees.
On another completely unrelated note, the marching band is playing Run Around Sue, Brown Eyed Girl, and Crazy Train this afternoon.
_______________________________________
Workout:
6mi run easy
Walking to and from the meat lab
