Michael :Christmas in August

 She is unaware

Of the cruelty humans

Are capable of.

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

A long-term guest at our wellness retreat has offered me two bicycles he has barely ridden. The fact that he’s 6’2” and it’s unlikely they’ll fit me didn’t stop me from immediately accepting his gracious offer.

A few of my fellow workers suggest that I should sell them. But I feel that would be bad karma. Someone offers you a gift because they feel you’re passionate about it, then to turn around and sell it…doesn’t work for me.

But since I can’t make use of them as is, I figure I can use the parts on a proper fitting frame and trade in the gift frame for the maintenance of getting a bike mechanic to assemble and properly fit it to me.

I was leaning toward getting a Bianchi frame as I’ve always had a desire to ride a celeste Bianchi. But the Otre X4 is $6k and I can’t see spending that kind of money on a frameset during these precarious times when I’m unsure of steady employment and so many people are in need.

Fortunately, I have found a LTD Cervelo R5 2019 frameset on sale for just over $2k which seems very reasonable. That means I will build a top of the line bike with disc brakes for far less than most decent intro bikes with rim brakes.

That’s an opportunity that makes me both feel as giddy as a child at Christmas and reasonably guilt free as an adult.