Hell hath frozen over - the Bobs have gone over to the dark and dirty side! :eek:
After the fun time we had with SadieKate & Bubba in Bend, where minimal blood was shed, Lee and I decided to take the plunge and get our own mtn bikes.
We figured we'd go the cushy full suspension route with the hopes that our equipment would help compensate for our lack of skilz. :o
We bombarded people with questions, did lots of reading, and initially narrowed the choice down to Giant or Santa Cruz. Then Lee did some more reading and concluded that Specialized might give us lots of value for the buck.
We were able to borrow a Santa Cruz Superlight from Chris at Robinson Wheelworks (thanks again Chris!) and Lee took it out for a ride on Friday morning out on the dirt trails in Coyote Hills park, while yours truly was working :p.
That afternoon he made a return trip to GoRide Bikes in Redwood City and took a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR out for a test ride. GoRide was having a clearance on their 2008 models, and for what we figured we would pay for the Comp (lowest) level, they had an Expert level with far better components.
Long story short, Lee called me up and said "honey, I'm buying a bike" to which I replied "that's nice, dear".
Lee was absolutely delighted with how the Stumpy performed so, to cut to the chase, we schlepped back to GoRide and I got myself one too. :D
So, we have matching bikes for the moment, but I'm already thinking about accessorizing. ;)
It's a wonderfully cushy ride, so I've named mine Doughboy (DB for short):
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...-and-dough.jpg
Yes, that's a Doughboy hanging off the saddle bag.
Lee, in typical fashion, named his "gray bike". :rolleyes:
Here's Lee with gray bike :rolleyes: pointing to where his tire caught and he endo'ed on his Friday morning test ride :D
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...-endo-site.jpg
We're having a blast with these bikes! We've gone a couple of times out to the dirt trails out in Coyote Hills and Don Edwards parks. I have the shifting down pretty well (it has SRAM shifters, a bit different than the Shimanos - but boy they work great) and I'm more confident with climbing & descending. We've been tweaking lever positions and such, and I've been back to GoRide to swap out the stem for a slightly shorter one, and it fits me fabulously now.
We'll venture off to more 'technical' trails next week (am I getting the lingo right?).
I'm a little embarrassed about getting such a tricked-out bike for my first attempt at mtn biking - the shock has a brain for chrissakes!!! - but heck, you only live once.
Plus, it's such a hoot to hear my husband so matter-of-factly state "I'm going to tweak my brain tomorrow". I don't think he's said that for over twenty-five years.
But one thing I'm wondering ...
Why didn't you guys tell me this would be so much fun?!?
ducking & running :D
