I did not realize that buying a bike was an afternoon long event. I left work around 3 on a Friday, and I headed to a bike store in my neighborhood.
Store 1 – Had just three road bikes. As luck would have it, one was a good fit (according to saleman) for me. Hmmm, really there are three bikes and one just happens to fit me? It felt to me like the bike is a little small. I am 5’10” I could stand over the seat (not just the middle bar). I told him I wanted to do some more looking.
Store 2 – Bike Barn. The salesman says, you are tall. He was about 5’6″, I almost popped back with, “you are short”. Instead, I asked what this meant. It meant that they have exactly one bike that fits me, it is at a store in Katy. Unless I want a man’s bike. From what I know now about bikes, I think I would have looked into getting a man’s bike, but I did not know up from down at the time. I wanted to buy the bike from a store close to my house, and I wanted a girl’s bike, so Bike Barn wasn’t an option.
Store 3 – Near Bike Barn. Pretty much the same experience, except there were three bikes, one in Clear Lake and 2 in Katy. Why Katy?
Store 4 – Sun and Ski sports. I had my choice of four bikes. If I had a do over, I would get the carbon bike that was on sale. Instead, I saved $400 and got the bike that I got. It is a great bike, but the lighter carbon bike would be nice and worth the $400. Once I chose my bike the sales guy started asking lots of questions about my riding habits. I was a deer in headlights. I finally explained that I had not ridden a bike in my adult life.
He gave me the cockerspaniel head tilt as if to say, “SERIOUSLY???”
When he did speak, he said ” I thought you said that you are doing the MS150?”
I looked at him confidently, “I am”. I could tell he was electing to not say what he was thinking.
Bike fitting – big fun. I had a hard time getting up on the bike and pedaling. I could tell bike sales guy was concerned. Probably because the bike was on a stationary trainer and I seemed to be losing my balance.
Once we finished with the fitting. He asked me about my bike helmet. “I need a helmet?” I asked. His eyes were wide, “I will tell you what, let me talk to my manager about getting you a helmet at no cost” He was back in about 10 minutes with two helmets in hand. I went with the blue one.
I was feeling very confident, like a real bike rider with bike in hand as I left the store. I felt less confident when I had to go back into the store because my bike would not fit in my car.