Birthdays

He is very lucky to have a birthday in April. Perfect time to start (start? does it ever end?) thinking about bikes and gear.

He sent an e-mail to his parents and me a few weeks ago with a couple of ideas for his birthday...

Since I cannot delay the inevitable, I figure I will ask to be showered with gifts. Enough gifty glee to help me forget that I am on my way to 40. ;-(

Ideas:
Pearl Izumi Attack Bib Short. Size medium. Need.
Osprey Talon 11 pack. Need.

I replied... "A smartass reply. Need."

Dome Show

Live stream here: http://domecam.nmu.edu/

This weekend all of the bike shops in town are being represented at the annual Dome Show at NMU. It is called the "Boat, Sport and RV Show". All of the new bikes will be on display and probably on sale. It usually also means the bikes will be on sale in the shops too. Good news for bikers. Good news for him.

Yesterday Bill bought a Gary Fisher Rig from Quick Stop Bike Shop. From what I can tell it is a single-speed hardtail bike that has a suspension fork. They blog here: http://quickstopbike.blogspot.com/

He'll be selling his SIR 9. I suggested locking it to the stop sign in front of our house with a "for sale" sign attached to it. The traffic on our street has increased significantly with the Dome Show just three blocks from our house. Interested in a green SIR 9? It is size Large--19 inches. Fully rigid with brand new wheels, cables, handle bars, seat post.

He Sure Is A Lucky Guy

Hello Fischer Crew - I have a special request. My husband has FINALLY found a bike that he LOVES. In our four years of marriage he has seriously had at least 25 bikes and I have heard about each and every one. From full suspension to hard tail and fully rigid, scandium, aluminum, steel, partial carbon, 26 incher to 29er and back and forth a couple of times. Road bikes, mountain bikes, cruisers, commuters, you name it. He now rides the Gary Fischer Ferrous and LOVES it. He loves it so much and talks about it so much that three of his friends are now riding 29ers. In attempting to convince another to buy one he let his friend take is beloved Ferrous for a test ride. He started to get nervous after the bike was not returned within two hours --he thought (name) was having a really great ride, and really loving it. An hour later his friend called to say he was having a hard time getting his pedals off of his old bike--he hadn't ridden the bike yet. He called a while later and said he was going to take it out for about an hour. Two hours later (name) arrived with the bike, said he really liked the ride and mentioned that there was a Paragon in his size at the shop. My husband brought the bike in and when he was cleaning his bike noticed paint chipped on the tube that runs from the seat post to the back of the bike --a spot where the pedal wrench could give it a good whack. He was devistated. His perfect, beautiful STEEL bike had its first doink. I calmed him down and told him he did the right thing by letting his friend borrow the bike. That is was definitely an accident that the chip was there, etc. Any how...he is really sad about his bike. Do you have a tiny vial of paint that I could use to touch up the spot on the tube? The spot is about the size of a pencil eraser. If you would rather send it to James at Quick Stop Bike Shop in Marquette that would be wonderful too. Thank you for your help and for making a bike that he is finally more than content with. --Haley

Cyclist vs. Biker

He asked me, "Why didn't you call it Married to a Cyclist?" He said it makes it seem like motorcycle blog when I say BIKER. Oh well.

Last night we watched Wild Hogs. Well, we watched the movie over the weekend and watched the extras last night.

One of the bonus features was How to Get Your Wife to Let You Buy a Motorcycle.

1) Convince her that you won't be riding your motorcycle with traffic on the express way. --that you'll instead be riding on quiet country roads without other cars.

2) Look good in leather.

3) Tell her that you can really experience scenic views way better than in the car--when you barely get a chance to look out the window.

Here's what I hear when he wants to buy another bike...

1) Convince her that riding a MOUNTAIN bike is so much safer than a road bike--you won't be riding dangerously close to crazy drivers on cell phones.

2) Look good in SPANDEX. (cough)

3) Tell her that you can really experience more nature when you are on the bike trails.

4) Tell her it could be big screen tv's, boats, snow machines, 4-wheelers, or drugs.

What He's Not Buying:

• The Motobecane Titanium 29er http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fly_TeamTI_29.htm
• The FULLY XTR bike here http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantompro_dsIX.htm
• This $8800 Specialized Epic
  http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=09Epic&eid=99