JBlog

I realize it’s been about 6 months since my last entry, but no one (read: no one) reads this, so where’s the harm?

After having put nearly 4,000 miles on my Trek 7.5 FX, which I use for commuting to work, I finally decided it was time to break down and start looking for a true road bike, so I began and ended the process of investigation and obsession at Champaign Cycle. I rode a couple of Treks and a very nice Trek Madone, but none of them seemed to fit quite the way I wanted them to. Of course, a lot of that had to do with the fact that the Trek, being a hybrid bicycle, has a riding position that puts you up much higher than a road bike does, so none of the bikes I tried really seemed like a good fit.

And then I decided to park myself on the last Lemond Champaign Cycle would ever offer up for sale. Due to Greg Lemond being outspoken against the doping problem in cycling and his persistent implications that Trek’s golden boy Lance was involved in said doping problem, Trek decided they would no longer make bikes with Lemond’s name. So they ceased production of them. But Champaign Cycle had one left. And it just fit. Apparently Lemond is known for making a more relaxed frame, which has made the transition from hybrid to road bike much easier for me. It’s a 59 cm carbon monocoque frame with Ultegra shifters and rear derailleur, 105 front derailleur and brakes and Bontrager components to finish it off. Simply put, I love this bicycle. Love, love, love this thing. It accelerates like a rice rocket and maintains speed without much effort.

My wife, who I love with the intensity of a million white hot suns, has slowly accepted the fact that I am obsessed with bicycles and has endured it and even recently relented and bought a bike for herself, the women’s version of my commuter, the Trek 7.3 WSD. After going on several rides with her, I’m convinced that she will be a very strong rider if she decides to stick with it. She has a smooth pedal stroke and can keep a high cadence going for several miles. With a half dozen or so fitness rides, she’ll be in a good position to do some spirited rides with a level 3 Prairie Cycle Club group.

With the purchase of my older son’s Raleigh Detour 4.5 last fall and my younger son’s Trek tagalong, the Barhams are now set to embark on bike commutes anywhere in Champaign-Urbana and even slightly beyond. 2009 will either be known as the summer of cycling or the year we all started our lifelong passion for biking. My hope is that the latter holds true.