the hunt

so after malibu, i began salivating over my new bike hunt. taunto has done me very well. taunto is a damn good bike. contrary to what SOME people say, taunto may be a tank, but he has been very good to me. that said, it’s time for a tri bike. luckily i’m not alone in my hunt, a teammate of mine has also been slobbering over webpages and specs and possibilities.

i went to one tri store, usually it’s my favorite, and i was greatly disappointed. the guy was an asshole. he treated me like a stupid blonde trying to get her oil changed on her car, which made me feel like shit. not to mention he only had 2 different brands he sells. not a lot of warm and fuzzies thrown out on that inital meeting.

went to the next tri store. oh the difference. after much teaching/preaching/yelling, mad max schooled me on how to approach this entire situation. i listened. mostly. i’m a spoiled brat. when i set my mind to something, i want it. and i want it now. i know this about myself. i’m not so ok with it, but not so NOT ok with it that i’m ready to change it. make sense? i get it, that’s all that matters. ANYway, this guy was awesome. he tweeked taunto for me after watching me on the trainer for a little while, something i didn’t really want to happen. but, oddly enough, taunto was already in good position for my fat ass as it turns out. yes he’s too big, by a couple sizes, but as far as positioning, he’s spot on. the only thing he changed was my handlebars, rolled them forward. during all this, he asked me what i’d been doing race-wise, what i’m headed for, what i like and don’t like. he then threw me onto a felt b12. it was comfy. that’s all i have to say about that. it wasn’t anything spiffy, didn’t NOT fit me, it was just comfy. and comfy is good.

then he put me on a kuota kalibur. hadn’t heard of it. nor would i have, truth be told. i saw the LATC emblem on the top bar, wasn’t too excited. the fact that the word ‘kalibur’ was spelled with a ‘k’ immediately bugged me. immediately. Kuota Kalibur. yeah i get it, but i hate it. drives me fuckin nuts. BUT, i didn’t let it bother me. i let it go. mostly. i ran my fingers over the LATC emblem and found it was just a sticker that could (and would) easily be removed. cool. on the trainer, i HATED the kuota. didn’t tell the guy that. he told me to take it out on the road. HOLY SHIT!!! that bike was crazy. it was awesome. fit really, really well. so agile. so quick. poor taunto never stood a chance. i was impressed. i come back into the store with this shit-eating grin (WTF does that even mean? who’s gonna smile after eating shit?) on my face. first words out of my mouth “holy shit that was fun!!!”. his response “ok, that’s not normal.” ah. leave it to me. he said most people didn’t know kuota, and when they got on one, after riding they figured out that the kalibur in particular was ‘too much bike’ for them. um, not good. so i asked him if i was being stupid, considering it was still my first year. hell, my first 7 months of triathlon. he told me it wasn’t a big deal, that i’m probably just a more aggressive rider (anyone surprised? bc i damn sure wasn’t) and my chosen tri bike needed to mirror that. then he says ‘so you must have put some miles in on your old road bike huh?’ i LOL’d at that one. i mean, 2 centuries, 3 races, 7 months of riding, is that a lot? comparatively to say, a beach cruiser, yeah. i told him i’d done some riding and asked why he thought that. he responded that anyone coming back in from a ride on the kalibur and enjoys it like i did has to have some bike handling skills. sweet. THEN he dropped the bomb on me. he told me there was one other bike, probably a little out of my price range, but it was a step above the kuota as far as handling. he said there was also the kuota kueen B (again with the k’s - geez) but that he really thought was too much. but this other one....

so he pulls out the ridley dean. dum dum dum. F. U. C. K. recessed brake pads on both wheels, white paint job with red fading into maroon, cobra wings and aero bars. jesus. he throws on my pedals and tells me that the seat post is too tall for me, but just to try it out. i take it out, and the seat post was way too tall. couldn’t really get all the way through the pedal stroke. i was totally bummed. i come in with a frown, i really wanted to see what it could do since he’d built it up in my head. so he makes a deal. he tells me to come back in on monday, that if i don’t buy the ridley, he would, so he needed the seat post shaved down anyway. i could try it monday, see what i thought.

fast forward to today. and jesus was it a long weekend. good thing i had things to do, i was so friggin’ anxious any time i was stationary for even 5 minutes. i go in, he throws on my pedals. i felt my HR rise as i was walking towards the door, so out of curiosity i take it for 6 seconds - 130 bpm. over a fucking bike. i was WAY to excited. what a sweet ride. i can’t even begin to explain it. it was awesome. AWESOME. i come back in, and out of fairness tell him i have to ride the kuota again. after all, much better price, possibly better fit according to friday. i get on it, and the difference is night and day. which shocked me. hard to do. friday when i left, i was pretty set on that kuota. and today, the kuota feels like the felt did, the ridley now like the kuota. for lack of a better explanation, that bike fits like a glove. as is, unfortunately. saddle is awesome, height was perfect, aerobars we widened out a little bit. money talks are now in the works. oh how fun. he originally did the numbers and i thought i was going to fall over at the counter. then he revised them, i felt a little better. the call to daddy has already been placed, not to worry. deposit will be placed in the morning. bike will be picked up tomorrow evening. he won’t be ridden until this coming weekend in Vegas, most likely. well, that’s a lie. if he’s here, in my house, my ass will get up at the buttcrack of dawn before work to ride. or maybe tomorrow evening after i pick him up....

taunto and i have not yet discussed it. the deal isn’t final, and should something fall through, i don’t want taunto to fuck me over should i still require his services for another ride or two this week. i’m not stupid. i know how this game is played.