What a better way to be woken up on a Sunday morning than a phone call from Kevin: “I’m at the REI yard sale. Are you coming?”
Actually, that wasn’t the best part. I did get up and grab a shower and start getting ready, and then I got another phone call from him: “Get down here. I found a bike I think would be perfect for you.”
20 minutes later I was inspecting what was about to become my new companion. Kevin and Andrew kept it safe from other shoppers until I got there. Thanks, guys!
I know nothing about bikes. But I do know that fit is the most important. This bike, an extra-small Novara Carema that was on sale for $300, turns out to be a perfect fit, according to the very helpful salesperson at REI. It’s used – someone had it for 6 months. And in that 6 months she upgraded some of the parts – she added a computer to the bike that measures speed and cadence, and she upgraded the spinny things the pedals attach to (see how little I know about bikes?)
The scary part about the yard sale is you can’t return the items once purchased, and the warranty becomes null. But the people in the bike shop there did an inspection to make sure everything was in good working order, and they said everything looks great with it. And for that price – I just couldn’t turn it down. I kept saying, “That’s like a Target price!” Everyone that saw me wheeling the bike around REI was commenting on what a great find it was – a customer or two even seemed pretty jealous.
Ok, bare with me as I give you some of the details, because this really is all Greek to me:
It’s a Novara brand bike, which is REI’s store brand. People keep telling me it’s a “good starter bike” which is probably exactly what I need. It’s a road bike, which is different from the mountain bike I was borrowing, but it’s perfect because I wanted a road bike. The components all seem to be Shimano brand. It has Carbon Fiber forks (don’t ask me. I thought a fork was what’s in my silverware drawer …)
It’s silver and blue and lightweight and pretty. That’s what I know about it!
All the online reviews talk about how comfortable it is. I cannot wait to try it!
I’m nowhere near done, though. I need pedals for it, for starters. I also need my own helmet (I’ve been borrowing Jeff’s), and I need bike shoes (I have some, but they have clips for the gym bikes so I’ll probably get a second pair unless they just happen to fit the pedals that are right for me.) I probably need lights or something, too.
And I need those of you who know all about riding to show me how it’s done!
An aside: I’m also holding off until I see a doctor about my knee. Yesterday, I was 10.5 miles into a 12-mile run when something bad happened to my knee. This is the second time in a few weeks, so I’m thinking it’s time to have a doctor check it out. A bummer, too – the run was going great! 10.5 miles with no walk breaks. No walk breaks! So I was really disappointed to have to walk, er, limp the last 1.5 miles back to the car. I will be practicing patience until it heals up. …
Comments
8 responses to “My new ride”
I’m so excited for you! That sounds like a great find indeed! I’m also worried about this knee-thing. Good that you’re going to the doc. I’m sure they’ll sort you out & set you right! Hopefully you just need to take it a little easier (I know, I know, “just” is easy for me to say!).
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Yin and Yang, Holmes and Moriarty, Tweety and Silvester… =-.
I am so happy for you! I can’t wait to go for a ride with you!
When I walked past it in the store, it called out to me, “I am here for Melissa, can you call her for me?”
.-= Kevin´s last blog ..One of Many Special Places During the Blue Ridge Relay =-.
That’s SO awesome, lady! I’m so excited for you and am very much looking forward to the day when I get to ride with you. 🙂 Looks like the crank= “spinny things on the pedals,” and the prev. owner definitely upgraded to some nicer parts! And you’ll be so stoked to have a cadence monitor… we have some small Cateye brand computers for our bikes currently, but they don’t measure cadence. If it’s got a carbon fork, I”m guessing that means the rest of the frame is aluminum — which is, as everyone has told you, absolutely perfect for a starter bike!
Most gyms’ spin bike pedals have SPD clips on them, and you can get SPD pedals for starter road bike pedals if you want. You can also get different clips for your current shoes if you really like them and they are supportive enough to wear as road bike shoes. Shimano makes a very good line of shoes and they’re a great place to start! They’re supposedly not as good for your knees as Speedplay pedals are (look them up– Josh and Mark both ride with those and love them!).
YAYYYYYYYY! 🙂 Hope you get your knee trouble all straightened out soon!
*”They in the last sentence =SPD pedals, not Shimano shoes. Shimano shoes=good. SPD pedals and Speedplay pedals are the thing to debate about, for sure. I’m still on SPDs right now.
That is a great price on the bike, it looked like they were using the sale price for the listed REI price so that makes it an even better buy.
Sorry once again to hear about your knee… make sure you get it checked out soon!!! and who knows maybe next time you guys can come along with us to Crowders.
Jeff picked me up some pedals yesterday – Jess, looks like they are one of the ones you mentioned! They should fit with my bike shoes so I can ride them now. You heard these were bad for the knees?
http://twitpic.com/jiyd1
[…] My new ride […]
[…] Oh, and a tip: Hit up REI’s members-only yard sales (after buying a membership, of course) for a good way to get inexpensive gear. I got a lot of stuff there … (including my $1200 bike for $300, but that’s another story). […]