so I bought a geared bike. the flat valleys out here finally made me make the switch. when I bought the bike at the bike swap I didn’t really have a good idea of what I was buying. all I knew is that it fit, it was in sweet condition and it was about what I wanted to spend. out of principle, I aim to never be someone who spends a couple grand on a road bike and spandex. there’s a lot of that out here. so almost out of same principle, now that I have gears, I also do long road rides in my cut off jean shorts. or my chacos. or both. what of it.

I happened to be at the swap early and had several people try to buy it from me before I made it out of the place. since then I’ve had random folks walk up to compliment my bike, most of them in disbelief that I picked it up at the swap. what I have learned so far is that apparently there were only about 3500 of them ever made, some regard it a collectible. the Bridgestone Synergy RB 1 was built for racing around 1992-93. this weekend I took it out for a 20 miler and another 30 miler. holy shit that thing goes fast! it’s got a massive chain ring in the front that enables me to get going amazingly fast. and keep accelerating when I work it up to a speed to ride in the highest gear. it’s amazing!

I never thought I’d be someone who’s into road riding, but somehow after years of bike commuting in Portland, I really miss being on a bike. it’s one of those basic simple joys. like, getting on a good swing every once in a while… I miss the tall swing sets in portland. just to go fast, ride so hard I think I’m gonna puke. like I used to in portland traffic, where I used to regard biking as something of a video game. when I lived there I used to have friends who wanted to go on road adventures, but I was never really that interested. largely just because I spent the whole week on a bike. while I always loved it, the last thing I wanted to do on the weekend then, was to get on a bike.

but when I moved here, I realized I was missing being able to go somewhere on my bike. it’s an odd thing to miss, odd thing to notice. biking used to be a necessary utility, not recreation. the adjustment to bozeman is in order to do a good ride, I need to ride out of town. I also know that I have always loved my time on the bike. when I was going to school and working full time, those miles were my time of serenity and without those I think I would have been going mad most of the time.

there’s a lot of good road out here. I never thought I’d say that. so, to make up for this atrocity I’ll continue riding in jeans amongst the sea of spandex. and 60 year old men.

I also spent a couple days skiing this weekend. saturday I went with Harriet and noticed that I have learned to fully understand her almost incomprehensible british accent. the ski was sweet, but this mornings was even better! we made it up early and timed our corn perfectly. the kinda run that makes you so stoked to ski… holy cow it was sweeet!

I love this time of year! I’m gonna go shovel some dirt.