Girl Meets Bike wrote an excellent list of “When I Bike, I Always Carry…” but I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I felt compelled to share with you my “must haves” and why.

1) Cash - now this isn’t new or earth shattering, but how many of you make sure you have a $20 bill to use as a shim? Not only is this a perfect liner between your tube and tire but it also means you have twenty bucks handy when you need to buy a new tire!

2) ID – make that ID attached to me. I have a shoe tag from Road ID as well as my ID in my Bento Box. If I go endo and separate from my bike I want to be sure that my contact and allergies are front and center. After all, just about every road rash cream has aloe in it – which, I am allergic to.

3) Cell phone – I learned this one from my favorite cyclist friend, Joe Felder. I carry an extra cell phone just for cycling. It has preloaded minutes and all my emergency contacts. If this one hits the pavement, I won’t panic the way I would if my Palm Treo (which contains my whole life) would and since it can only dial out as much as I’ve loaded funds into it, I won’t worry that someone is going to call Ethiopia on it

4) Mini pump - I used to love CO2 cartridges until I started flying with my bike in an Iron Case. Then I started to stress “Did I remember to get those cartridges off my bike? Will they explode in mid-flight? OMG, did I pack a pump?” Enough! Out with the single use CO2 cartridge and in with an environmentally friendly mini pump, nicely attached to my road bike.

You have to admit, Rae puts herself and her bike through more physical challenges then some see in a life time. She is extremely careful in her actions but not timid about what those actions are to be. Grammar school gave us annual photos of her with the sling of the season on her arm and many years later our go getter has returned from Hawaii, or more recently with a little less skin and a little less bike then she started out with.

When we first started cycling, we needed new bikes. Our old trusty steeds were ill fitting, big heavy things that could get us to the bank and stuff but just weren’t going to be the easiest thing to ride a century on. In typical Rae fashion, she struck out on her own, did the research, found the bike shop she wanted to do business with and bought a 2007 Giant OCR 3 W.

Recently, she had a small falling out with a car on a rainy night and lost. Oh, and I might add after the night guy potato chipped her wheel he left and just might be the same car that ran over her glasses – we’ll never be sure on that one.

New glasses have been ordered, the bike is whole and home again, ready for Saturday’s training ride. Plus there is the extra bonus of having to be fit to a bike with a new fork. All is happy again, until the next time. *sigh*

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For a 12 year old boy, our son showed quite a bit of dedication to the team and our training routine. So much so that I knew he would stick it out and needed a better bike than my old one. My 40 year old road bike had been to Santa Barbara and back in its day, plus into the Mojave – however, it this point in its life it is stuck in 3rd and 4th gears. Just not the bike for a lot of climb.

We did a scouting trip over to Helen’s Cycle’s in Santa Monica to narrow down the choices and be sure we could stay in budget, came home sprang the new bike surprise on Josh and took him back to the shop to show him the 2 Treks and a Diamondback for his final approval.

Instead, we settled on a Cannondale hybrid (Cannondale Quick 5) that appeared magically beween visits. It had seemed to have a frame that would hopefully let Josh and his big puppy self fit together for the next few years. he’s enjoying the heck out of it, tackling the PCH and the Tour de Foothills with his ol’ Mom.

From the Cannondale website:
LIGHTWEIGHT AND COMFORTABLE

We have paired an already comfortable bike at an attractive price point with something even more attractive: A carbon fork. Excellent vibration resistance means you’ll be ready for anything, from long-distance charity rides to a spin around the block.

SPECS:
Frame Quick
Fork TIG-welded Chromoly
Rear Shock N/A
Rims Cannondale C4, 32 hole
Hubs Formula FM-31 front, FM-32 rear
Spokes 15g stainless steel
Tires CST Selecta w/Kevlar belt, 700 x 35c
Pedals Wellgo resin platform w/Kraton insert
Crank Shimano FC-M151, 28/38/48
Chain KMC Z72 8-speed
Rear Cogs Sunrace M66, 11-32
Bottom Bracket TH cartridge
Front Derailleur SRAM 3.0
Rear Derailleur Shimano Alivio
Shifters Shimano SL-EF50 EZ-Fire
Handlebars Cannondale C3, 20mm rise, 600mm wide
Stem Cannondale XC3F 1 1/8″, 31.8mm
Headset VP semi-integrated threadless, 30 mm top cover
Brakeset Lee Chi TX-120 linear pull
Brakelevers Shimano SL-EF50 EZ-Fire
Saddle Selle San Marco Ischea
Seat Post Cannondale C4 Alloy
Sizes S, M, L, X, J
Extras Montague “CLIX” Front QR

Too many bikes out there to test ‘em all? Not enough hours in the day to try each one out? Try Testrider.com.

Forget the lengthy debates about boron and GSM numbers, how will this thing feel on my local club ride? That last few miles of a century? Jumping out of the final corner of a crit with that guy I just can’t seem to beat on my wheel?

At Testrider.com they don’t pretend to review a bike after a few hours in the saddle. Test Riders Ben Edwards and Matt Benko put in hundreds of miles, over varying terrain before attempting to review a bike, or any other piece of equipment.

Late Friday night, after the car was loaded and all set for our early o’ dark hundred training start, my husband takes the car to the market. Unfortunately, my bike was on top of the car when he entered the underground parking garage. For the sake of brevity, I’ll tell you that you may insert bad word, bad word here and that the bike is now at the Trek Hospital (Helen’s Cycles) on life support.

Saturday morning had me trying the first climb with a 40 year old bike who’s gears were rusted stuck in 3rd or 4th gear. I tried with two hands to shift and could not do it. I struggled up that climb and finally thought that it was too stupid to try 70 miles of Charlie’s tour like that. I rode back to town via the bike path, bought a new bike to return to training (20 miles round trip). I didn’t have a whole lot of bucks and I wasn’t about to leave without a bike that day but I think the understudy bike will do nicely.

Here’s the new addition to our family:

Trek 1.2 WSD

Specifications
Frameset
Sizes Women’s 43, 47, 50, 52, 54, 56cm
Frame Alpha White Aluminum
Fork Bontrager Approved, carbon
Wheels
Wheels Alloy hubs; Alex alloy rims w/eyelets
Tires Bontrager Select, 700×25c (43cm: 650×25c)
Drivetrain
Shifters Shimano 2203 STI, 8 speed
Front Derailleur Shimano 2203
Rear Derailleur Shimano Sora
Crank Bontrager Sport 50/39/30
Cassette SRAM 850 12-26, 8 speed
Pedals Nylon body w/alloy cage; clips and straps
Components
Saddle Bontrager Select FIT CRZ+ Basic
Seat Post Bontrager Carbon
Handlebars Bontrager FIT VR, 31.8mm
Stem Bontrager Select, 7 degree, 31.8mm
Headset Aheadset Slimstak w/semi-cartridge bearings, sealed
Brakeset Alloy dual pivot w/Shimano 2203 STI levers

Why a woman’s bike when I generally don’t have a gender specific bike?

WSD Comfort: Contact Points
Contact points are customized to fit a woman’s anatomy.

1. LESS PAIN
Narrower handlebars keep hands in a more natural position for greater control and less shoulder pain.

2. MORE COMFORT
A woman’s specific saddle with key anatomical features provides optimized comfort and support.

3. LESS FATIGUE
Shorter-reach levers and smaller-diameter grips are sized to fit a woman’s smaller hands.

4. MORE POWER
Shorter crank arms improve leverage for a more efficient pedal stroke.

I’m no different than anyone else with a bike. We’ve all spent a chunk of change on our ride. Taking care of it becomes a time challenge among other things. I am terrible about cleaning my bike, degreasing it, etc. Fortunately, I have an extremely knowledgeable daughter who is willing to take care of mine when she cleans hers. Of course mom has to pay the going rate.

We travel for various events – not just biking but golfing in new and exciting places too – which meant we needed a new car to handle the bikes in a way that would keep them from getting banged up like they did with the rack on the back, allow us to have room for luggage AND 3 golf bags, plus let us pop an extra rack on the back in case we needed to SAG. It was quite a site watching me open car trunks, throw in my clubs and see if I could lift a bike to the roof of the car. I refused to test drive or listen to a sales pitch before I was sure it would suit our needs. I should point out here, that I have a very supportive husband who does not ride a bike … ever.

It didn’t stop there. With me getting ready to start working on the June Ride to Conquer Cancer in Toronto, I’ll be traveling there to get to know the routes and spend some time training with my cycling partner there. (very nice guy who is a cat 1 paired with me, a cat 5). I started to worry about my bike on the plane. The airlines helped me get a bike safely to Calgary in a cardboard box but I wanted something more for this bike. This week I bought a Trico Sports Iron Case from Helen’s Cycles with my super Team in Training discount!

I’m pretty impressed with this purchase. It not only is much more secure for my bike than the cardboard box but also a bit shorter in length. This will help me in getting a cab. The wheels on the bottom are small in my opinion but they do work well and the case does not tip to the side when pulling like some rolling bags.

The only thing that might make me happier is getting it out of my living room and into the garage until I am ready to use it!

2007 marked the return of cycling in my life and becoming an endurance athlete, which is a very nice way of saying I park my ass on a bike and pedal long distances on purpose. I don’t do this because I think this is the best way to travel long distances (it lacks a driver and room service), I do it because I believe that in my own way, I can make a difference by fundraising to support various cancer related causes.

How I do it is on my shiny new (OK, new as of last May) Trek 1500. To make it even more zippity special it came in Trek Red.

A few words I found about my ride:
Rocketing down serpentine descents, flattening hilly centuries, and scorching the blacktop: the Trek 1500 does all that and more. Its Alpha SLR aluminum frame and carbon fork are light, stiff and velvety smooth for all-day comfort. The Bontrager Select wheels slice through the air and effortlessly accelerate out of turns. Plus, the 18-speed Shimano drivetrain and dual-pivot brakes make it easy to expand your riding horizons.

Description:
Frame Material: aluminum
Frame Angles: 73.0 head, 73.8 seat
Sizes: 52cm, 54cm, 56cm, 58cm, 60cm, 63cm
Colors: Black, Gray/Blue
Fork: Bontrager Race Carbon
Rear Shock: Not applicable
Brake Levers: Shimano 105 STI Dual Control
Handlebar: Bontrager Ergo
Stem: aluminum
Headset: 1 1/8″ threadless Aheadset
Front Der: Shimano Tiagra
Crankset: Bontrager Race, 30/42/52 teeth
Rear Der: Shimano Ultegra GS
Pedals: aluminum cage w/clips & straps
Tires: 700 x 25c Bontrager Select

It’s not enough to have the wind in your hair and the bugs in your teeth while pedaling the PCH on your favorite roadie (who talks like that?), you gotta have the cute threads to boot.

I can’t remember where I saw the link to SkirtSports, but I’m glad I did. Founded by a professional tri-gal, Nicole DeBoom, SkirtSports is kicky, comfy and quality. Certainly something to consider for your daily gear.

Do you have bike envy?

I picked up the latest copy of Bicycling mag and casually flipped thru the table of contents and had to laugh…

“The average BICYCLING reader already owns 4 bikes, so, naturally, here’s our guide to buying your 5th.”

(sorry, you have to actually pick up the magazine to read the guide)