ME!!!! ME!!!!

I bought one today. I got last years model - burnt orange. I was hoping it would look more red but it's OK. The price was right. Had I seen the color in person first, I would probably have opted for this year's model in "pearl." My LBS did not have it in stock, but apparently Trek still had 4 left in last years model in a 52 so they brought that in for me to try. Got to hand it to them, there was no hemming and hawing about doing that, even if I did not commit to buying it ahead of time. (But then again I have bought 4 bikes in the last 7 years from them).

But I LOVE the bike, and plan to use it for commuting. I even think it fits better than my Pilot but it does need a little tweaking. I will work with it next weekend weather permitting. We had north winds all morning and then snow showers on an off all afternoon and I was just too cold to spend more time out on it today, but I did manage to get about 10 miles in.

I did find out that the tires are not fat enough to ride on the gravel road to my mailbox. The hard way. Had unclipped left just in case but and fell right anyway. Ooops! I'll probably have a bruise or two but don't see any damage.)

The rear brake is still a little squishy and the cable routing seems a little awkward right at the disc, but the mechanic has a plan to fix that. He's very good, and he'll take care of it when I bring it back for adjustments in a couple weeks.

Bought Frog pedals, a rack and computer, water bottle cages, seat pack and tire changing tools, but still need a pump, co2, and some sort of a trunk or maybe the Arkel Tail Rider bag for the rack. I don't carry a lot to work (no laptop or anything) and usually leave clothes at work. But with the price of gas I really want to ride more. The main deterrent for me is the dark - 10 of the 13 miles one way are a pretty desolate stretch on coastal highway - 4 lanes 60mph, 10' bike lane but NO LIGHTS AT ALL. And in the middle is the bridge over the inlet to the ocean that has barely a 2' bike lane and no lights (and lots of debris) so I really have to wait till it stays light till about 5:30 PM before I start riding again. Once I get on the south side of the bridge, there are at least a few houses and some street lights in the neighborhoods though still none on the highway, but I'd be comfortable there I think....

Anyway, the Portland comes with clip on fenders that are pretty cool, but did not fit with the rear rack I bought, so I took the rear fender off.

I really think I'm going to be loving this bike. Now if I could only figure out where to put it! 3 bikes in the living room really does not work for me.

Martha