How do I say goodbye to what we had?
The good times that made us laugh
Outweigh the bad.
I thought we'd get to see forever
But forever's gone away
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.
I don't know where this road
Is going to lead
All I know is where we've been
And what we've been through.
Geez, even now, I'm getting a bit misty eyed....OVER A BIKE?!?!
For a little over a year, I've been watching a good base of my cycling/triathlon buddies enjoying riding their mountain bikes and, while I've made a few attempts to enjoy it on borrowed bikes, I haven't embraced the activity at all. On many occasions, I've had to ride my tri/road bike solo because they are all out riding one of the many trails near our neighborhood. I've seen them go from beginner bikes to $10,000 full suspension rigs and from 10 mile "fun rides" to competing in 104 mile endurance races. Again, all the while, I was never really interested....until now.
Since the beginning of 2013, it seems like I'm reading more stories about cycling fatalities do to reckless drivers. I've also been paying more attention to others while I'm driving and have seen my fair share of people making that oh so important text while cruising down the bike lane at 55mph. I can wear all of the safety gear I want, wear all of the blinky lights I can, obey all the laws that are in place, and be as alert as possible, but nothing, NOTHING can save me from the scenario I described above as it would happen from behind and take a split second. Heck, even the most cautious driver in the world can be distracted for a split second, cross into the bike lane, and take out a cyclist. As a result of this new found "paranoia", I've seriously considered selling my beloved BH G4 road bike and buying a mountain bike with the proceeds. Oh, I'll still keep my tri bike, but at least I can mitigate the danger by getting off the roads more and onto the trails.
So, the first step in the process is to actually sell my BH, but when it comes to being a salesman, I am probably the world's worst! I have ZERO negotiation skills and pretty much fail miserably every time I get the courage to try. So, when I tell you that putting my bike on Ebay or Craigslist makes me very uncomfortable, that is probably an understatement. I realize that literally thousands and thousands of people sell their stuff this way, but I just seem to hate it. I don't really want to negotiate over a low ball offer or let some stranger ride off on the bike just to test it. What if he never comes back? What kind of hooligan will be showing up? What times will people want to come over? During dinner? Kids baths? When? YOU SEE?!?! I get all worked up over what is pretty much nothing to most people. With that in mind, I stopped by the bike shop that I've been frequenting for 5 years now and asked if they do swaps, trade-ins, or consignments. Well, the answer to all three is yes!
After I told the owner what I was looking to do, we jumped on the net to see what BH G4s are going for or what they have sold for recently. We couldn't find any. None. He then asked me what I thought I could get for it. All along, I thought that I could probably get in the neighborhood of $2500, but for some reason, I told him $2000....I have no idea why. It was at this point that he said he could swap me for a brand new Santa Cruz Superlight 29er full suspension mountain bike. All I had to do was tell him to order it. We walked over to the exact bike, and set up, that he had on the floor, but it was too small. I immediately fell in love with it. It looked super cool, was a 29er, and was full suspension, all of which I thought was important. As for the components, the only way I know anything about MTB components is to relate them to the equivalent road groups. For example, the top of the line SRAM for a road bike is "Red" and the top of the line for MTB is XX1. The "entry level" road group for SRAM is "Apex" and the entry level MTB is X5. Shimano is a bit more complicated, but the top of the line road group is Dura Ace, while the entry level is widely considered 105. There are lower groups (Tiagra, Sora, and 2200) but those are more commonly found on "big box store ~ i.e. Walmart" mass produced bikes. Well, this particular bike has a mix of SRAM X5 and X7 on it. The only way I can relate was when the owner told me that it's like a road bike with Shimano 105 and Ultegra (a step above 105) mix....or a SRAM Apex and Rival mix....most definitely "entry level." Regardless, I made the snap decision to move forward and told him to order it up! He then asked if I could bring by my BH so that he could try selling it ASAP. Yesterday was the day that I brought her in.
After talking with a few of my buddies about the transaction, I was met with mixed responses. A few told me that the new MTB would serve me well and that I would be just fine riding it. Others thought that I was getting the short end of the stick on the deal. They didn't say it was a BAD deal, just that I probably could have negotiated more ~ I told you I couldn't negotiate!!!! With those remarks fully burned into my brain, I rolled my full carbon, full RED, sub 15lb, road bike into the shop. I leaned it up against the wall and made small talk with the guys in there. I really didn't want to leave. After reflecting on it for 24 hours, the thought of simply trading in a top of the line road bike for an entry level MTB was a tough one. I was very attached to that bike and always seemed to get compliments from people that had never seen it before. Finally, I had to make the break. Good deal, bad deal, whatever, it was too late in the process now. I said goodbye, to both the guys in the shop, and my BH, and walked out the door....never to see her again. Hopefully I will be more than happy riding the trails on my new set up and that will take some of the sting away from yesterday's transaction. I will never forget the BH G4, the miles I put on her, the races we did together, the crash we had, or the day I left her alone with strangers in a bike shop.
The very fist pic after being built up circa August 2009:
In Del Mar, California circa October 2009:
Finishing the Tour de Tucson in 4:56.17 just 3 months after our crash that shattered my shoulder, broke two ribs, and bruised a lung:
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