It's here -- let the riding begin...in a few days

No, I didn't take the time to photoshop this together.  It's an ad that I pilfered from the net. 

I finally got it.  The new mountain bike that I have been talking about for years, wishing for quite a while, dreaming about while trying out different kinds of bikes, and now own.  A Niner Jet 9 in a delicious Tang Orange color.  I'm sure it's delicious, and tangy, but I won't lick it to find out for sure...maybe. 

I even lucked out and ended up with a color matched fork that made even the bike mechanics that were assembling it drool. 

Cahaba Cycles called yesterday while I was on a one day 500 mile motorcycle journey, which may or may not be a topic of another post, to say that it was done.  When I called this morning to see how much cash I needed to bring to settle the bill, they jokingly said $10-Grand because so many people had wanted to buy this bike they had to pay for shop damage and some injury claims during the ensuing melee. 

It is pretty.  I'm almost afraid to take it out, dirty it up, and most likely crash it...almost afraid that is.  Since it will be filthy (certainly) and scratched (probably) after the first ride, I'll offer up a few pictures in its pristine state to record how awesome it looks for posterity.

 Ah, the motivational speech that will somehow inspire me when I'm about to throw up and walk during some endurance race this year?

Outside the shop in Homewood with the tag still on it.  Things don't get much newer than that.

Here it is ready to go home in it's luxurious transport accommodations. Yeah, perhaps I need to clean some biking stuff out of the truck?  Nah...



Do you like the blue tarp protecting the car interior? While it does serve to protect the interior from typical biking oil and filth, there are unintended consequences to its use.  I don't think I'll ever be able to vacuum out all the little blue bits that have accumulated, so just as a note to all my readers, don't use blue tarp in your vehicle.  Find something else that won't make it look like a smurf exploded in the back seat.



 Once home, I fiddled with the air shocks and hydraulic disk brakes to get some items squared away for whenever I actually get to ride it on real trails.

Ah, the beauty of shiny clean rear suspension.  This will never look the same after the first ride, and that is how it should be.

Naturally a line of storms is coming through today that will make a mess of the trails, and I also have stuff to do with the kids since I haven't seen them in a few days.  The new bike will just have to be patient while I take care of the things that actually matter.

The first ride image while out with Bryce.  Soon he will be on the trails with me, and probably sooner than later will be faster and stronger than I am too.

I'm planning on Thursday to take the inaugural ride on it, and I hope it's as good as I have imagined it to be.  Also, we will see if I can shock my body back into healthy sleep, eating, and workout patterns after being up to all hours for the past few days at Leesburg BikeFest.