The 'bent Needle

Well... maybe not. But then again, 'perfect' is a rather ambiguous term. Not to mention apt to change without notice. At least, that tends to be the case in my case...

Anyway... The above pictured pic is a photo of the bike that I bought for Kim a couple of years ago. Not a bad little bike, once we got it spec'ed out for her; the original gearing was a wee bit too much for her to handle. (A bit high for most folks who would want to buy one of these, IMHO...)

Back to "The Perfect Bike" comment... I have been wanting -not needing, mind you; WANTING- to get something else in the bicycle department. And I must confess, there are a LOT of different models to choose from. Enough to give anybody a spinning head problem; nevermind someone of my indecisiveness when it comes to 'what I really want' out of something. How bad can it be for someone like me? Well, consider this: in the last... oh, idanoe 20+ years, I have averaged about 2 bikes a year. (And I am sure you all can do the math on how many that adds up to be.) Granted, I have sold all but 2 of them up to this point; most at a bit of a financial loss. But what does that have to do with "The Perfect Bike"?!? Well, with so many choices I just had to try them all... Not really, but it seems like it in retrospect.

Anyway, I have been looking at the different stuff that is out there and frankly -for me, at least- I have found most of it wanting. Trust me, I can find things to change about bike stuff in no time flat. But then again, I am a bit picky about the kind of stuff that I feel works best for me. Trust me, I could go on and on and on about this type of technical stuff (and just deleted half of this post because I overdid it a whole lot!) but I think I better not.

Suffice it to say that I have been considering getting myself a bike like Kim's for a second bike. (Yes, I am planning on selling W.I.P. Any takers?!?) To that end, I took Kim's bike out for a long test ride. Without going into too many details, I can honestly say that -after almost 24 miles of around town riding- I actually liked it. Granted, I did find a few things that I would want to change (old habits, eh?) But for the most part it was pretty spot on. Case in point: this thing is a lot more agile than something this long would appear to be. AND it almost handles like an upright, which was something that I think I am still wanting to have. (I just don't want to 'upright' part, that's all...)

However... Methinks that I am mayhaps not necessarily looking for a bike like Kim's for a second. I know, that sounds like an excuse to me too. But I have been giving it a bit (okay, a LOT) of thought since the ride earlier today and can honestly -well, as honest as it will sound- say that I am actually thinking about the next model down from this one in the company's line up. It is called the EZ-1 and as hard as it may seem, I think it might actually be what I am looking for. I will be the first to admit that this bike seems to go against my nature -even to me as I write this- but I am honestly wanting to tinker with bikes less and ride bikes more. I just happen to want more than one, that's all. ;-) I have taken an EZ-1 out for a rather short test ride a while back and was honestly impressed with it too. It wouldn't be as fancy as anything else that I have or used to have, but mayhaps that is what I am looking for. It is hard to say, and as usual only time will tell...


I am going to quit rambling on this subject for now. Oh sure, I could go on and on and on and... But I think I have said enough for now. If I can say anything at this point, it would have to be that bicycles are very personal devices and IMHO they should be designed as such. But then again, if that were the case there wouldn't be hardly any bikes out there because they would cost too much to make. FYI: it is possible to put a bike together per your own personalized specifications, but you better have deep pockets when you go to do it...

Okay, enough about bike stuff. I have rambled on long enough about it anyway...

In the "Where are my manners?" category...

Regarding a comment from Lili, below is a picture of my Native Wolf project. I am all done with it except for the framing. Watching the Tour tends to keep us from doing other things sometimes...



Also, I have started the deer project that I am doing for another associate at work. It is going fairly quickly, when I am working on it that is. ;-) I will make pics of it shortly...

Tomorrow we will be going to see "The Pirates of the Carribean" and can't wait! Kim has been waiting for this one since she found out that there would be a second one. I am just hoping that it is at least half as good as all the hype...

Okay, I have been typing for quite a while and may not be able to get out of my chair. (EEEK!) I hope you all have a good night/day/whenever and I will post at you all later!