heading to CDA on the b12

i just bought a new bike. the felt b12 is finally mine! it is gorgeous & will make me go so fast – it damn well better… good thing we sold the audi when we did :)

since december of last year i’ve taken 7 really nice tri bikes for test rides. if you are going to spend some serious cash on a bike & you plan to be on that bike a lot (say for 5+ hours at a time) you want to really take it out & ride it; not just tool around a stores parking lot.

while i love the folks at bicycle sport shop & i think they do a great job at what they do they can’t compete with a store like jack & adam’s when it comes to setting you up & getting you on the right tri bike. if you need a good road bike, mountain bike, or service on your bike definitely head to BSS – they’ve saved my butt a couple of times.

i did start at BSS back in december. i road an ’07 specialized transition e5 comp. it was a nice bike but it wasn’t carbon & it just didn’t feel all that hot. specialized has actually totally redesigned the transition for ’08 & according to bicycling magazine it’s a sweet ride. given that the transition is the only tri bike that BSS sells i headed over to J&A's put myself in the hands of the pros. right off the bat i knew i found the right shop – there’s no tooling around in the parking lot with the bike – they fit you & give you the keys to take it out as long as you need. need it for a couple of days to get some time in on it – sure thing!

my first ride was on a quintana roo kilo. i like the QR & since my current tri bike is a QR (a really old ’01 QR that i bought off craigslist – got a great deal actually) i figured i would see where seven years of technology/development had brought the kilo. the kilo has an aluminum frame, not a carbon frame & while this bike retails for $1,600 it is still considered an entry level tri bike. i got out on the kilo & while the fit on this bike was much better (J&A’s sized me for a 54 – my existing QR is a 56 (way too big)), the bike itself didn’t feel all that much different than what i’ve got. so after one long ride on the kilo i passed on it.

*** note: just like car manufacturers, bike manufactures change things up from year to year & most new bikes don’t arrive until late Q1 of the new year since in majority of states folks can’t ride their bikes outside because it’s too cold (doesn’t apply to us in texas). so J&A’s inventory was low & they, like me, were just waiting for the new bikes to arrive. ***

given that the racks in the shop were mostly empty jack set me up on a kestrel talon that had a carbon frame. kestrel is a damn good brand & a number of ironman championship races have been won on a kestrel. however, i wasn’t digging the frame or the look of this bike at all. while looks aren’t everything, when you are shelling out BIG bucks for a bike you want to enjoy looking at it. kristin has already warned me that whatever we buy i need to keep for the next 3 – 5 years so i can’t afford to make any mistakes on this purchase.

once i jumped on that kestrel with a carbon frame i knew there was no turning back to a bike with an aluminum frame. a carbon frame is just so much more forgiving on your body & so much lighter too. i told jack (owner of J&A’s – damn cool cat) that from this point forward i only wanted to ride carbon. we had a problem though - that kestrel was the last carbon bike in stock that was in my price range & until the newer bikes were to arrive there was nothing for me to test ride.

after doing some internet research & talking to friends i narrowed my search down to three carbon tri bikes that were in my price range: the kuota k-factor, the cervelo p2c, & the felt b12. all are damn fine bikes with their own little perks.

of the 3 bikes i was now shopping, J&A’s only carried two of them. they don’t have the distribution rights for the cervelo. the folks down the road, austin tri-cyclist, are the only guys in town with the distribution rights to the cervelo (jack, from J&A’s is working on this). while i am no doubt a huge fan of J&A’s, I needed to see what the cervelo p2c was all about. so i ventured down to the austin tri-cyclist shop & i have to say the cervelo p2c is damn sweet. the folks at cervelo hit a home run with this puppy. not only was it sweet, the guys at austin tri-cyclist were offering it below MSRP & they even were throwing in a package deal to include wet-suit, new shoes, new clips, & helmet for a $100 bucks over what the MSRP was on this bike. at this point i hadn’t ridden the kuota k-factor or the felt b12 (because they hadn’t come in yet) so i didn’t just want to move on the p2c without giving these bikes a chance.

the kuota k-factor was the first of the two bikes to arrive at J&A’s in january. jack called me up & that saturday we scheduled a fit & a test ride. when saturday rolled around i couldn’t wait to get down there & pick-up the k-factor. i ended up taking the k-factor on the 360 loop & back. while a nice ride, i wasn’t impressed. it was the cheapest of the three bikes i was now considering & while it had a carbon frame it just was lacking in so many other spots. i returned to J&A’s & told jack that i’d hold tight until the b12 was in.

at this point i was really getting sick of riding my QR. it didn’t fit me & i now knew what a real tri bike was supposed to feel like.

when the b12s finally arrived in early february i reserved the first available 54 (my size). i scheduled my fit for a friday night; that way i could take the b12 on a long ride with the t3 the next saturday. after work i gave jack a ring & told him i was on my way in to get my fit down. he had bad news – one of the guys goofed the scheduled & let someone else take out the one b12 in my size. i was devastated & a bit pissed because i’ve been waiting almost 3 months for this bike to arrive & when it finally did i still couldn’t get my hands on it. jack could tell i was bummed & that i was getting sick of riding my QR.

jack & i talked later that night & even though they were closing he told me to come down to the shop & he’d hook me up with something very fun to ride the next day. when i got there he had pulled the top of the line kuota kalibur off the rack for me. this was a very high-end tri bike - $4,000+ & if you add race wheels you are easily looking at a $6,000+. this bike was hot & i was looking forward to hopping on it in the morning. i ended up talking to jack for about the next hour while we dialed this bike in to fit me perfectly – no reason to ride a bike this sweet if it didn’t fit me just right. i learned a lot about J&A’s, jack, & the whole austin tri/athletic scene.

needless to say, the ride on the kalibur the next morning was awesome. i was riding the audi (i’m an audi guy – what can i say) of bikes. i was almost nervous that after being on this nice of a bike that the b12 wasn’t going to be all that i had expected it to be. it didn’t matter though – neither kristin nor i were going to spend $4K+ on a tri bike.

that third weekend in february it finally happened; another b12 in my size arrived & jack had it reserved for me. i was pumped to get out on it. unfortunately it rained the saturday & i my first “ride” was indoors on my trainer. the next day was the AT&T marathon & i crashed that race to get in my 15-mile long run. however, later that afternoon i did a recovery ride on the b12 down south with kristin around the veloway & the s. mopac loop - while only a 19-mile ride it felt good. i called jack & he told me to hang on to the bike until the following weekend so i could get a real ride on it. that next saturday the weather turned bad & i found myself indoors with t3 on the trainer for 3-hours – again, not how i wanted to spend my time on the b12. the next day, prior to our long run, ed, noah, i got in a 20-mile ride & we spent a little time on bee caves (fast, hilly, & good turns) & the b12 felt awesome! i called jack right away & told him i’d take it.

it took almost a full week until i was able to make some time after work this past wednesday to make it to J&A’s to get my official fit & actually hand over the cash for the b12. jack gave me a great deal on the accessories that i purchased with/for the new ride along with some other additional goodies for both kristin & i.

it took almost 4-months to find the bike that worked for me. never before has buying something involved so much work, yet so full of fun along the way. a BIG thanks to jack & the guys at J&A’s for working with me on this one. i am one happy client & i’ve got one kick ass bike! coeur d’ alene – here i come & i’m coming on a b12!

the R8 in town

i assume there aren’t too many audi R8s zooming around town so i feel comfortable referring to the one i saw this morning as “the R8” in town. zia, a good buddy of mine, e-mailed me pics of this dream machine many months ago. i thought for sure the R8 would be one of those cars you only see in high dollar action & sci-fi movies & only once in a blue moon on the actual road.

low & behold i ran past one this morning just 10 blocks from our house. where was it? the R8 was parked on the street right outside austin’s very own & the original kerbey lane cafe. if you are from austin then you know the original kerbey lane restaurant is just a fun loving looking cozy cottage just off 35th street on kerbey lane. the contrast of the R8 with it’s jet black paint & futuristic design in front of the live & loud paint colors used on the cozy cottage was something to see. i wish i would have taken my iPhone with me on my run i could have captured this contrast in design & color with a picture.

austin is such a cool place. isn’t it great that someone who will pay between $109,000 - $118,000 for an automobile like the R8 is still down to earth enough to get his or her breakfast at a place like kerbey lane? heck, for $6 bucks you can get a bottom less cup of fair trade coffee & short stack of kerbey’s famous buttermilk pancakes for less than $6 bucks! i bet this masked person is a graduate of UT’s CS department & is now a game developer who works long hours, makes good money, & can’t get enough of kerbey lane’s pancakes :)

possible new wheels

i recall the year beginning & talking about selling some things. we did sell the audi, which was by far the most important & significant of items we need to sell. at the same time, kristin & i are both looking for new wheels.

actually, i’ve been looking for a new tri bike & the B12 finally came in so i picked it up yesterday from J&As after breakfast at casa with kristin. then we headed out to the toyota dealership to turn my 4runner in for any maintenance it may need (1st shop visit since we bought it – turned out it just needed a tire rotation & the brake fluid flushed – so much cheaper than maintaining an audi!). while, there we decided to do an oil change on kristin’s 4runner & sit down for cup of free starbucks joe. our sitting didn’t last long – intrigued by the new “smart” cars kristin & i started looking at the matrix, the yaris (very cool story about how this car got its name), & the prius. given the price tag & economic sense of owning a yaris ($14K - $16K w/ options, 30+ MPG, & super toyota quality) we hopped in one for a test drive. knowing that kristin set out this year to reduce her carbon footprint, i told her that if she wanted it we’d get it today.

we ended up taking a real liking to our salesman (this guy & his/our story deserve it’s own blog post) & it didn’t even fill like we were shopping & that he was selling us a vehicle. 3-hours later & kristin made a smart move & said let me take it home for a couple of days (an extended test drive) to ensure she was ready for such a smart, simple, & economical vehicle. we are less than 24-hours into & i think she may be sold on it.

after getting home with the yaris yesterday we took it by J&As to pick up my tri-bike shoes (i left them there earlier that morning & would need them to in order to test ride the B12). we even took payton in the back & he fit just fine & better yet he could actually jump in/out by himself whereas with either 4runner we still have to pick him up – we hope as he get’s older/stronger he’ll be able to manage by himself. anyhow, kristin took the yaris back out last night to meet some girlfriends for drinks, she drove me downtown this morning for the start of the AT&T austin marathon, & now she’s swinging by central market for groceries. i can only assume that if the grocery shopping goes well today then she’ll be exchanging her SUV (4runner) for the yaris.

while we are shopping for new toys, the best part is that our expenses will actually reduce – well the bike doesn’t actually count :) but the yaris car payment, gas, up-keep, etc. will be significantly less than her 4runner. i’m loving ’08! kristin & i are rocking, we both have our health, our families are well, we got a awesome dog, we are both getting new toys while reducing our expenses, we are expanding our education (kristin’s getting her real estate license & i am getting my business analyst certificate), i’ve got some new rocking friends & getting closer to some friends from my past, work is exciting, we are both for the 1st time ever looking to vote for a democrat (go obama), & we are doing it all in austin, TX!

getting back into biking

over the past few weeks i haven’t looked forward to a single bike ride. i attribute this lack of excitement to three particular things & the good thing is that i know i can overcome them all.

1: i rode a few weeks ago when it was 36-degrees out & basically froze my ass off! a few weeks prior i had a similar experience on the bike so i headed to bicycle sport shop & jack & adam’s to pick up some full length riding gloves, a head warmer, & long tights. these three things worked very well, however, i forgot about my feet. if you didn’t know, bicycling shoes have open air vents on the top & bottom of them so that cold air stings your feet all over. when i got back to my car after that 45+ mile ride i was utterly miserable.

2: i’m riding an older (’01) QR tri bike i bought off of craigslist about 9 months ago with the intention of using this as a training bike only prior to spending the big bucks on a tri bike for coeur d’ alene. near end of last year i went tri bike shopping & more importantly tri bike fitting. not knowing how a tri bike should feel/fit prior to this i was shocked to find out that the QR that i’m on right now is two sizes to big & the aero bars are about 4-inches longer than they should be. i’ve take a few new tri bikes on some test rides & now knowing how a tri bike should feel/fit i’m miserable when i get back on the roo.

3: there is just a lot of prep time involved in biking. pull the bike off the wall mount, load it on/in the car, air up the tires before you ride, make sure you got your tools, (extra tubes, air gun, hex tool, etc.) make sure you got your helmet, gloves, the right shoes (i’ve got one pair of biking shoes for my tri bike & another for the road bike), sunglasses, water bottles filled with some combination of nuun, accelerade, or perpetuem , nutrition (hammer gels, cliff bars, builder bars, etc.), phone, ID, & some cash in a zip-lock bag, (in-case it rains) & finally the biking clothes (bib & tights) & when it’s cold add arm warmers, long tights, full-length gloves, head warmer, wind breaker, & finally booties – which i still need to buy.

so how to get rid of these biking blues?

1: the weather is getting better in austin. i was out in it yesterday & minus the wind it was awesome!

2: i’ve narrowed it down to 3 bikes & if J&A’s would have had one in some months ago i could have already made my choice (it isn’t J&A’s fault – the bike manufacturers don’t normally release their bikes until the new year & due to the cold weather this time of year you can’t bike in most states so rushing the bikes to the store isn’t a norm). the 3 bikes i’ve narrowed it down to are & in order the felt b12, the cervelo p2c, & the kuota k-factor. i’ve ridden every bike except the b12 & lucky for me J&A’s just got one in & i’m set to pick it up this friday & i’ll take it on my long ride saturday morning.

3. i’ve just got to prepare better. make water bottles the night before, now that i’ve got the 4runner throwing the bike on the bike rack is easier because i don’t have to take off any wheels, keep all my gear in what i’ll call a tri tub that i can just carry from the house to the truck, lay clothes out & pack nutrition up the night before too.

i think just being on a bike that fits & feels good & is much lighter & faster than my current tri bike will make a significant difference & will be enough to really get me excited about getting out on the bike.

out with the old, in with the older

today i departed with my a4. i know it is going to a good home; however, i am still sad. i’ve never owned a car longer than 2 years & i had this a4 for 4 ½ years. i was $2K away from having it fully paid off too. we had some good times & i will miss driving it. i remain very impressed with german engineering. a good friend of mine likes to say, “if it isn’t german, sweedish, or jap it is crap.”

so now i start a new chapter with automobiles. the old (’03) a4 has been replaced with an even older (’99) 4runner. the 4runner fits my current lifestyle – i don’t need a fancy car to pick up hot chicks (didn’t have one when i picked up kristin 6 years ago either - i was driving a civic at the time), i don’t need a standard transmission to have fun driving because now i need something that is hands free so i can hold conference calls from my car & drink coffee at the same time, i need it to be easy to haul around bikes, we now have a BIG dog (payton – a rhodesian ridgeback), & most importantly i don't need a car payment & now i’ve got a car that is paid off! NO more car payments – well that’s not exactly true, we still owe on kristin’s ’06 4runner.

it’s been 10 years since i haven’t had a car payment. i was 20 years old living in hawaii & i was driving an ’89 prelude. i suppose i’ve owned a few cars – 8 in 14 years to be exact. that’s a different car every 1.75 years (21 months). i think i like the aspect of buying a car more than anything else. not to mention my needs (wants) change as i mature. i’ve got an entire theory on male car buying (based on my own knowledge) that will find its way to the blogosphere very soon.

vorsprung durch technik

the audi is naked

the a4 is officially ready to sell. after i got home from biking yesterday i pulled off the bike rack & then took it over to arbor car wash for a cleaning. it's the first time in a long time that i've taken the car for a washing. i've always be adamant about keeping the interior in pristine shape (that's where i sit everyday). the exterior for the most part i could really care less.

i think the a4 is a beautiful car, (i wouldn't have bought it if i had thought i otherwise) i just think mine looks naked now without the bike rack. i suppose it's like the day after i shaved my "mountain man" beard that i was growing last month. i didn't even recognize myself for the first 24 hours after. hopefully soon i'll recognize the a4 too :) more importantly, i hope it sells quickly!

stuff to sell in 2008

normally folks consider all the things they want to buy for a new year (a house, a car, a BIG screen TV, a laptop, a pet, etc.). well this year we, well maybe just me, are starting the new year off with some stuff we need to sell/get rid of.

you all know that feeling of getting rid of stuff right? i feel like a "weight" has been lifted. i love it! i'm proud to say that each year kristin & i get rid of even more stuff that we don't really need. granted, kristin & i do have 5 bikes between us & i'm looking to buy another... i suppose that is my BIG purchase of '08, a full carbon tri bike! anyway, that's probably the only area that we have excess & in all honesty i need a road, mountain, & tri bike - they all serve *very* different purposes. i will most likely sell my existing tri bike when i get a new one, or just permanently leave it attached to the trainer & kristin is definitely selling her crosstrail bike this year (hasn't ridden it once in the 6 years that we've been together).

so what's all on the chopping block for '08?

- the '03 audi A4 is the biggest of the things we need to sell

- the new sofa we bought in sept. & already hate

- my pull-up/dip/leg-lift machine (no room for it)

- the crosstrail bike

craigslist here we come!

another 4runner

kristin & i have enjoyed our new 4runner so much that i went out & got me a used one this weekend while in dallas. when we bought the new 4runner the deal was that kristin would learn to drive the a4 (standard) & when i wanted to go biking i would take the 4runner. this was back when i wasn’t even doing triathlons & mountain biking only.

well, it’s been almost two years since kristin & i made that agreement & she has yet to learn to drive the a4. i’ve since put a bike rack on the a4 which has worked well but there have been a few times when i would have liked to have put 4 bikes on a rack & gotten in with some buddies & gone somewhere out of town for some riding – you can’t do that with an a4.

knowing that ’08 is going to be a year full of tri racing & that our new pup (payton) who when fully grown will weigh between 85 & 95 pounds & wouldn’t fit well in an a4 i knew it was time to make the purchase & get a SUV of my own. it worked out well because i’ve actually always liked the 2nd generation body style of the 4runner more than the new one & i trust these vehicles so much that i’m not scared to be driving a vehicle that is out of warranty – that’s something i can’t say about my a4 which two months after going out of warranty had the check engine light come on. $45 in parts & $155 in “labor” to replace an oxygen sensor & a gas cap later & i knew right away that driving a german car without a warranty was going to be a bad move.
i’ve been looking online for almost a month now & because 4runners are such popular vehicles in austin it’s been hard to get to one before someone else did. the resale value & along with the number of miles on these trucks is wild. anyway, i think we got a good deal & if i can sell the a4 quickly we’ll be in a good position & best of all NO MORE CAR PAYMENT!