Not too long ago here on Gran Canaria, a conversation ensued over dinner between 2 of my clients and myself about the dilemma of buying a new bike. They are a young couple here with us on a cycling holiday, but naturally the air was thick with impending bills.
This naturally too, occurred against the reality of life as it happens now, bills and costs, like death and taxes will always arrive,sometimes with punctuality, sometimes even early.
And there is the nub of my reasoning. Speaking as one, happily wedding to my Team Machine, I have eyes for no other. I am at one with the bike, or rather this bike, to the point that I have replaced every model, with the same model as it became available.
For the legion of riders who have to yet to admit even privately, that they have not yet reached that state of nirvana with their bike, and have put it off repeatedly, I say this to you, in simple terms,why put off till tomorrow, what you can have today?
Every day you spend pining over websites, cycling mags and standing wet nosed against the window glass of your local bike shop, is a day wasted. Every ride you head out with that mentally ill-fitting contraption beneath you, is quite frankly beneath you and your impending talents.
The young rider, whom we shall call Dan, for that is his given name, has the the physique of Froome and a healthy knowledge of all matters cycling. He had rented a Cannondale Super Six and during the days together, he’d make some pining like noises about his current bike, so much so that under a brutal yet brief investigation, I was taken aback to find out just what he had moldering at home.
It was like meeting someone in a fine worsted suit and finding out that they sallied forth in a Nissan Juke, it was clear that Dan’s misery and his constant heavy sighs aboard his rented Super Six, a bike he’d have to return, was the source of his sorrow and evident despair.
So there we have it, a bike, your bike, the one you know you want, the one that will make you happy and allow you to move on, move up, achieve your state of happiness, cross over, become, take the red pill and put behind those dark dysphoric days behind you.
Even if you have to borrow against the farm to get it, you know you are going to get it,and every day you wait, puts the final payment date further into the future. Our days are limited in which we can storm the Strava staircase, so there’s no credible reason to tarry not one more day.