At First Sight

It is so good to finally have my new bike in my possession.  Friday evening I went to the LBS to pick it up and was impressed with how kind and friendly the bike shop employees were.  One of them helped to put the bike onto my car rack for me.  One of the mechanics even took time on his way to his car to explain a detail about the bottom bracket that I was confused about.  I'm already looking forward to taking the bike back to the shop because I know they will treat me well.  Unfortunately by the time I got to the shop and then home it was dark out so there was no test ride that evening.  I couldn't keep myself from looking at my bike as it sat between the living and dining room.  This is his home until I can pop a kickstand on him.

I say him because on the way home my bike's name came to me. I had been researching Austrian names and things that have to do with Vienna all day because my bike is a Vienna 4 model.  Of course I was going to try and be witty with the name.  Well, then on my way home I was thinking about my brown bike and the color just stuck with me.  Then out of nowhere there it was.  My bike will hereafter be known as "Charlie Brown" aka "Chuck".  This has about a thousand different meanings for me, but the most relevant is that it makes me smile.  Charlie Brown is not super athletic, but he is steady.  That's how my new bike feels.

We took Chuck out on his first ride on Saturday morning.  We decided to do our favorite greenway trail because of the scenery and the length.  I took Chuck around the parking lot for a few minutes to get used to the gears.  Then I let Becca ride him for a few minutes.  Then we were off down the trail and I had the biggest smile on my face the whole way.


A few things I noticed about Charlie Brown right off.  He is taller then the distinguished gentleman, Kenta (who is insulted when I refer to him as "the old bike").  Chuck's handlebars are wider which immediately made me feel steadier and safer.  His tires are wider and offer a smoother ride and also add to the stability.  The internal gears are positively blissful they are so easy to change.  And Chuck has a bell which I love.  Love.  It is nice to give people on the greenway a warning when I am still a bit far back, so they know I'm coming and then when I get close I still give the proper "on your left call".  Now though I can do it a bit closer and at a much more pleasant volume.

The greenway we chose offers a few small hills, some road crossings and several intersections with other branches of the greenway system which were also all great opportunities for bell ringing.  Before too long I had to ask that we stop so Charlie Brown and I could have a photo op.  Charlie is not vain, but I insisted!  Then it was back on our way.

Going up the hills was so easy with the low gearing, and I felt so confident really letting loose going down the other side.  This was like a whole new world!  I felt safe and comfortable and steady.  And none of that means Charlie is a plodding old workhorse.  Quite the opposite! I felt comfortable swerving my way down the trail, using my weight to shift the direction.  I had never gotten quite that comfortable on Kenta.  I also felt comfortable riding with one hand again.  I could barely take a drink of water when riding Kenta because if I hit one little root bump or a freakin' acorn or something I was risking life and limb!

When we reached the end of the trail, I coerced Becca into stopping for a few more pictures.  While I was "in the zone" she took a break on the nearby bench.  I was startled to hear a man start talking from a few feet behind me!  I hadn't even heard him pull up!  We talked for several minutes about the planned extension of the greenway and bike riding in general.  Then we noticed a very tall bike rider coming down the trial with some children and a friend.  He looked really odd from  distance and as he came closer we saw he was on a unicycle!  He and his group stopped and talked with us for another 10 minutes or so and he told us all about riding the unicycle and how he had become interested as a way to work his core muscles. He said it took 10-15 hours of riding time before he became at all comfortable on the unicycle.  After a few more minutes we turned around and started back.

I was shocked to realize we had been out riding and chatting and taking pictures for over an hour and a half.  I couldn't stop grinning about my new bike and how wonderful it felt to ride.  I love the more upright position, the comfortable stance and the greater stability.  I can't get over the difference.  On the way home, I told Becca, "For my needs right now, I could not have ended up with a more perfect bike". 

Watch out Peppermint Patty--I'm in love with Charlie Brown!

My Globe Experience Story

So how did this all happen? How did I win a free bike from Globe and become one of their team of bloggers?
I first found out about Globe Bikes on the Bikes for the Rest of Us blog.  I went from there to the Globe bikes website and sat drooling over the different models of bikes.  I looked at every model, but became most interested in the Live and Haul models.  A few more minutes browsing took me to the Globe "culture" page which just had a short blurb about a blogging contest on the Globe Facebook page. 

I spent the entire rest of that day trying to think of something I could blog about--some reason that would justify winning a bike.  I was so excited about the contest I told coworkers, I called Becca at work and told her and I wrote a draft of what I wanted to say in my entry.  As soon as I got home from work I ran to the computer and pulled up the Facebook contest page.  I started looking at the other entries.  I read page after page of great writing, witty entries, stunning videos and funny stories.  And then I stepped away from the computer and the contest and went about my business.  I didn't think it was even worth trying.  First off, I never win anything (and is it just me or does everyone who wins something say that?).  It's true though. Secondly, those other entries were downright intimidating. 

Over the next couple of weeks I checked in a couple times on the contest, but mostly I pushed it from my mind.  I still found myself drafting an entry in my head.  Finally on the last day of the project I sat down and tapped out a stream of consciousness entry (which can still be found here).  I submitted it and then tried to put the whole thing out of my mind for awhile. I would check in every couple of days to see what was going on with the contest.  I was excited to see who they picked.  That is not a job I could have done--there were a lot of amazing entries from all over the globe (ok I meant to do that).

Then one day I decided to check on the contest again, as I waited for Becca to come home.  We were planning on taking a bike ride down by the golf course that night.  I saw a message posted that Globe was trying to contact people about their finalists and to make sure that if you entered the contest, your personal settings let people contact you on Facebook.  I changed my settings immediately.  Hope springs eternal I guess!  I then noticed I had a new message asking if I could add Jessica from Globe to my friends list.  Now I was getting excited!  Still, caution overrode my excitement.  I updated Becca and then we took off on our bike ride.  I remember we both laughed at the thought of me winning something (anything!) much less one of these bikes I had been lusting over!

Sure enough though, when we got home I had a message telling me I had been chosen as a blogger for the Globe Experience.  I can't tell you how many times I thought this whole thing was a joke, or that I was gonna find out it wasn't true.  I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Man, am I glad those doubts were baseless. Already the Globe Experience has proven to be an inspiration for me to keep reaching for my health goals.  I read the blogs of the other "Globers" and their stories lift my spirits and keep me motivated. 

After talking with Jessica about my riding needs, we decided that the Vienna model was a better fit for me.  She was great about helping me out with the technical details--I am still a newbie as they say and still trying to figure out and learn about the technical aspects of bikes.  I think I have spent hours looking at the picture of my soon to be bike.   I haven't had a new bike since I was maybe 16, so this is as good as Christmas morning for me. 

This is my bike today:

I love it for it's classic character, for it's timeless good looks, for the fact that it's my age.  I love it for where it has taken me, both physically and mentally/emotionally.  I love that it makes a "pair" with Becca's bike which is a white mixte.  I like that it's steel  and has 12 gears.  I like its "old school" odometer.  I love "Kenta" as I so lovingly named it -- if the internet can be trusted at all that means "well-built" which I thought fitting.  Every now and then I will probably take that bike on a ride, just for old times sake.

This is my new bike:

Tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I go to pick up my new Globe Vienna 4 at the local bike shop.  I am so excited to ride it, see it, and love it.