New Wheels

I just bought my second bicycle. I bought the first a year and a half ago: a Cignal Ranger hybrid trail bike, a little too small for me but I bought it at a small independent bike store at the end of the season when the owner didn't have many bikes left. I didn't want to spend too much money in case either I wound up not enjoying riding very much, or my acute sciatica prevented me from riding. I could only ride a short distance at first, and it would make the sciatic nerve ache, but riding quickly began to make the sciatica improve!

I was thrilled to find a form of exercise I enjoyed that made my body feel better instead of giving me more injuries. I observed other bikes to figure out what I wanted to upgrade to. At first I wanted a mountain bike with disc brakes because road riding makes me nervous, I love trail riding, and mountain bikes are a blast. However, I decided that there are only two single track riding areas within a two-hour drive of my apartment, and I had no one to mentor me or ride with me on mountain bike trails, and a mountain bike would lock me into solo riding because I wouldn't be able to keep up with groups on road rides. Thus, I needed to choose a bike based on my riding goals, rather than what appealed to me most.

So did I want a road bike? Suiting up in fancy riding gear and cruising at high speeds isn't my style. I don't take a serious attitude to bicycling, I mainly bike on rough surfaces, I'm a little clumsy, and I really don't like to wipe out. On the other hand, I wanted to join Bicyclists of Iowa City for some low-key road rides just to be social and hang out. Thus, I decided to buy another hybrid, but a faster one.

I thought I might get a Trek hybrid because the nicest bicyclists seem to ride Treks and I wanted to be like them. However, it was too much of a bicyclist's bike for me. There wasn't even a shield over the chain spokes, so the bike couldn't be ridden with trousers on unless the cuffs were bound to my legs. Also, although the bike shop would have fitted the bike for me, the default handlebar settings were so far wrong for me that I wasn't entirely confident they could be fixed. My rotator cuffs hurt just from taking a spin around the parking lot!

I think Cannondales are gorgeous, but I fell in love with the Specialized Sirrus, which is a cushy, compact bike designed for the casual rider. It seems to be very popular; there were at least two others out for customers when I bought mine, this time at Northtowne Cycles in Cedar Rapids. I have to say, if there was a Northtowne charge card, I'd have it. I think I shop there more than almost anywhere else except grocery stores. Anyway, the Sirrus has a comfortable ergonomic seat; it's sporty and compact so I can reach the handlebars easily; it has a straight handlebar instead of curved, which gives me more control and keeps my back straighter; and its handling is far superior to that of my Ranger. It has narrow tires that help it get up a good speed easily, yet the tires are still wide enough that they won't get caught in a crack in Sutliff Road and throw me on the pavement. Plus it's beautiful. It's a little cheaper than a low-end road bike, as well.

I took the Sirrus for its maiden voyage today on the North Ridge Trail. Very sweet. It corners smoothly, with a certain style and grace. At times I get the feeling of floating over the road. Hopefully now when I ride with other bicyclists, they won't turn and look at me every time someone's brakes squeal; and mechanics won't look askance at me and hint that I might have purchased a bike at a department store. For the record, my Ranger's brakes have never squealed, not even once, and I'm keeping it for trail riding.