Andy Laub

I’ve made it no secret that I’m a huge bike nerd. I’ve spent countless hours poring over cycling websites and forums, reading about new gear, and just generally obsessing about things that a normal person wouldn’t give a second glance to. I have brand preferences, and I can list off the parts that I would put on my dream bike at any given time, from memory. I’ve cleared well over 3000 miles this year on a bike I’ve only had since March. So why have I only broken 100 miles (nearly all of them indoors) this month? There are a few reasons:

Weather

It’s October, and apparently it’s been decided that good weather is done for the year. It’s cool at best; windy and rainy at worst. I feel bad for not riding to work, but I don’t miss the hassles that it brings in terms of clothing and preparation. I’ll admit it – when you’re used to getting places under your own power, driving becomes one of those guilty pleasures.

Reliability

I’ve been constantly afflicted by a flat rear tire in the past two months. I couldn’t figure out what was causing it, but I was going through a tube every few rides or so. For that reason biking was no longer a reliable mode of transportation for me. I couldn’t justify trying to squeeze in 15 or 20 miles if I knew I’d have to spend a portion of it on foot, hoofing it to a gas station.

Time

I was trying to average 20-25 miles a day when I was riding during the summer. It wasn’t terribly difficult when I was going to and from work twice a day, but no matter how you slice it that ends up being nearly 90 minutes of riding, which is a time commitment that I’m just not interested in making when reason number one comes into play.

Disinterest

When all the reasons above combine it makes for an experience that’s just not enjoyable anymore. One alternative is to train indoors (I picked up a set of rollers earlier this year), but it is seriously boring, and not something I want to do everyday (if at all).

A Solution

With all this in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to start running.

Here’s the funny thing about that. I suck at running… or at least, I did. I couldn’t run a mile to save my life, and if by some miracle I did manage, my lungs would be on the verge of exploding so it may have been a self-defeating act. My very first run (in recent history, at least) consisted of a distance of about 1.5 miles, half of which were walked.

I paid for it dearly. My major mistake was opting to wear the Nike Free’s that I used for Wii Fit. While they were fine for a more aerobic use, they were terribly unsuccessful at dealing with the foot-to-pavement interaction, and my hips were out of whack for two days afterwards.

When I finally did recover (read: when I could walk without being in pain), I decided to give it another go, this time in a pair of borrowed Nike Shox. While I didn’t much care for the feel of them (Shox in general seem relatively heavy) they did a much better job of absorbing the impact and left me feeling much less damaged the second time around.

The fact that I committed to a second run at all is something of a miracle, as I don’t think I’ve ever reached that phase before. Apparently, that’s all it took. I lucked out and found a pair of Nike Zoom Start +, and the deal was sealed.

Nike +

It was no accident that I ended up with a pair of shoes that are Nike + compatible; that was basically one of my only requirements when searching. When it comes to exercise, stats have worked in my favor in the past, so I had no doubt they would work their magic again.

I was right. When base your distance on landmarks instead of hard data, it’s easy convince yourself you’ve gone farther than you actually have, and to feel more entitled to a break. The little voice in my ear told me otherwise, which made the little voice in my brain say “Keep going! You can do it!”

As it turns out, I can do it. In spite of the extremely temperamental weather (which fades to the background once warmed up) and the sporadic pain (which is assuaged by time on the rollers) I’ve found that I actually do love to run. It’s such a simple activity, and that’s why I was always frustrated that it always seemed to escape me before. It carries a lot of the same traits that I enjoy about cycling without the drawbacks. I’ll openly acknowledge that it’s harder on the body, but I’m getting more done in less time (in terms of exercise) and I don’t have to worry about random equipment failures.

And I can listen to music while exercising, which is basically a deathwish on a bike when you’re on public roads.

First, a confession: I haven’t picked up Wii Fit since April, if that. Instead, I’ve been biking. Riding. Cycling. I think I like that last term the most; it sounds so official. I never felt comfortable calling it that when I just rode my mountain bike(s) around town; you need drop bars and skinny tires first.

I’m pretty much smitten with the LeMond in spite of the combined efforts of the weather and mechanical gremlins trying to make me hate riding. I mentioned after picking it up that my goal was to reach 1100 miles on it this season – equal to the cost of the bike. I figured it was doable, but what I didn’t know was how quickly that milestone would be reached.

Not quite three months later, I had my answer – I reached that goal on June 11th. Then came 1500 miles, and yesterday I hit 2000. I’m finding that 500 miles or more a month is pretty easily attained, especially now that I don’t have constant after-work commitments.

Furthermore, weather this year has been awfully strange; it seriously feels like everything is delayed by 1-2 months. If this trend keeps up, the great biking weather could continue well into November. In the meantime, I’ll ride outside as much as I can until the snow falls, and then I have to figure out what kind of routine I want to use to keep the exercise up – Wii Fit again? Rollers? Some other ridiculous Wii game?

Time will tell. For now, I bike.

My friend Gary bought a cyclocross bike. This is not news, because it happened nearly two years ago. It’s a Bianchi Roger, a single-speed road frame with beefed up components (and disc brakes!) perfect for traversing muddy trails and grassy knolls. But equipped with a set of slicks it became a formidable commuter bike – light, strong, and fast. But while there was a lot to like, certain bits left me wanting. Most of what it did (albeit with less weight) was matched by my own single speed; the two were simply too similar to ever logically share a garage.

It was last summer that I started to be more and more enticed by road riding. I looked at plenty of road bikes, but none really stood out as “the one”. These would be ideal for commuting but also for longer ventures that just weren’t practical on my Bianchi. Or at least, that’s what I told myself. At the same time, I’m not denying that I’m rough on my bikes, and I feared for the safety of a road bike under my ownership – which is why I started looking at cyclocross bikes again. Then I found the Trek Portland – basically the Roger with gears. But I wasn’t a fan of the Shimano Tiagra components on paper, and the price was higher than I was comfortable with. Still though, it was about 90% there, and I was tempted.

At first sight…

One day I wandered over to LeMond’s site (a subsidiary of Trek, focused solely on road bikes) to admire them as I often do. It was then that I discovered the LeMond Poprad, and I was smitten. While the Portland is billed as a commuter bike, the Poprad is a CX bike through and through. Many of the components are similar (Avid BB7’s, again!), but the Poprad uses Shimano 105 throughout the drivetrain (with the exception of the Bontrager crank). Instead of aluminum, the frame is steel, which means the tubes are skinnier and the whole frame is more classically proportioned than the Portland and Roger. And the graphics were timeless.

So the Poprad became my dream bike (which is not doing too badly considering it’s not the same price as a car), but alas, the price was similar to the Portland’s, and still more than I was willing to part with for a bike I wasn’t sure I needed. And then the colder weather set in, and my love of all things two-wheeled went into its annual hibernation.

Now spring is (almost) here and I’m in better shape than I ever have been, and I’m itching for some longer rides. The first ride out on the Bianchi, while nice, wasn’t as satisfying as it could’ve been. I just had that nagging feeling that I was using the wrong tool for the job. After obsessing over the new offerings for 2009 on the various manufacturer sites, I was left wanting. Some were close, but nobody – not even LeMond – was making the bike that I wanted.

Google delivers

So it was purely happenstance, then, that I was searching for the Poprad on Google, with very low expectations. The odds of finding one seemed relatively hopeless – there are no local LeMond dealers, and Trek/LeMond have an agreement with resellers that while the bikes may be purchased online, they may not be shipped; only picked up at the store. Plus it would have to be a good price, and most importantly, it would have to be my size.

But somehow the stars aligned, and I found a shop selling a brand new 2007 Poprad (which actually is slightly more attractive than the ’08 in that it only has a 9-speed cassette instead of a 10-speed and can accommodate a wider, more durable chain) for a great price. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw they were located in Minneapolis. Okay, maybe not – but I’m pretty sure I swore. A barrage of emails later, and they were holding the bike for me so I could make the trip over and check it out.

Less than a day later I was driving home from Minneapolis, my new Poprad tucked safely in the back of the car (on top of the dining table from IKEA – I love hatchbacks, by the way). The shop I bought from, Freewheel Bike, was nothing but helpful, and I highly recommend them for anyone in the area.

How is it?

I think it’s great. Unfortunately Wisconsin has felt the need to assert that it’s not spring just yet and given my aversion to cold, I am off to a slow start in terms of mileage. But the rule of thumb I’ve adopted is that I need to put at least a mile on for every dollar that was spent, and I’m committed to that. In the meantime, I’ll sit and stare at my bike on Flickr (or glare at weather.com); it will have to do.