It's Official. It's Spring!

Every March, one of the local bike shops in Madison throws a huge sale at the Alliant Energy Center called Bike-o-Rama. I don't know why, but I feel compelled to go every year. There's something about the large number of people excited about cycling that gets me fired up for spring. So I go knowing that I won't buy anything (I've been there 3 times and spent more on parking than I have on bike stuff).

We went on Sunday, so the place was picked clean already, which is okay because Cheri and I weren't planning on buying anything anyway. I just wanted to go to be around the enthusiasm and see if there were any killer deals I should take advantage of. Nothing. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. But working in the bike industry really takes the fun out of these sales.

So we decided to head over to Erik's Bike Shop to check out the Cannondales. We talked to one of the sales reps for a while, which was fun because he was very helpful, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He talked to Cheri for a while about women's specific road bikes, and now she wants to get a new bike. She was going to wait for next year, but after flipping through the Cannondale catalog she found a bike she really wants and the price is great.

I'm happy she's going to upgrade because I think she'll be much happier with dura-ace components and then I won't have to adjust her derailluers as often. And I think this is a good time to buy a bike. The cost of raw materials in China is going up quite a bit and I think the price of bikes is going to be going up in the next few years.

Here's a picture of the bike she wants:



Except she wants this color:





It's official. Spring is here.... http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/breaking_news/276097

Thanks, Mayor Dave.