Homer

So Lia's big birthday present this year is a road bike. She doesn't usually get this big of a present, but she's been especially good this year, and since having baby number two, she has set her sights on becoming a triathlete. So she needs gear. And she already has the running shoes, the bathing suit (albeit not one of those newfangled ones that are now illegal), all she needs is a bike.

I don't know much about bikes. If you have been reading the blog, you may remember not so long ago I went on a bike ride on my bike. My is a term I use loosely. It is not exactly mine; it was loaned to me without a specific date to return. It's a 1980something blue wonder with a frame that will outlive me and components that a bike mechanic might put on their worst enemy's ride. I'm not complaining. I got it for free. I was loaned it for free. And it gets me from point A to point B. Not to mention it gives me the extra muscle and cardiovascular work out as bonus. It's like the shock boost they put in your Smoothie.

So I've been learning up on bikes, now that I am buying one. I've got a couple friends that race them. I have a father-in-law that lived on one a couple summer's ago. I've been compiling info. So last thursday Lia and I head to the shop with my limited arsenal of what I'm after. We land on a Cannondale Synapse with an aluminum frame, 105 Shimano components, Shimano wheels, blah, blah, min-ah-min-ah. They are going to have to order it, but that's ok. Lia's birthday is not for a week.

Now, I'm not sure if this has all been planned or not. The whole experience was a bit jedi mind tricky. But they happened to have the same bike in carbon, with SRAM components blah, blah, min-ah-min-ah... And under the guise of "sizing it out" they put Lia on it. She takes it for a ride. I had brought "my" blue wonder with me so I went along. I have to admit she and it looked good. They get the measurements they need. We say thanks. And just as we turn to leave, the guy says, "To save us the leg work, we'll knock $600 off the carbon bike." Lia and I look at each other. We ask them for permission to sleep on it.

I go home and stay up all night researching Cannondale Synapses. From what I can gather, it is a good deal. Still, I don't know. It's more than we planned to pay and nicer than we probably need. Finally, my friend Matt calls back. I had left a message earlier. I explain to him my dilemma. We go back and forth and so on until Matt says what I need to hear. He says, "Ned, you are Homer Simpson giving Marge a bowling ball for her birthday. It's for Marge, right? So what if the holes just so happen to fit your fingers. The bottom line is you are buying yourself a bike for Lia's birthday." Exactly. Decision made.

The next day, I got, I mean Lia got her Cannondale Synapse carbon fiber, jet propulsion, lightning racer.... what a birthday! Thanks Matt.