Fast. Fun. Fantastic.

“I know I’ve hurt you,” he said, “and I’m very sorry.”

“Thanks,” I responded. “You know, a new bike would make me feel a lot better about things.”

This is one fantastically happy girl!

And even though I was half-joking about this, it came to pass!  Not long after he offered the apology, my friend Jon invited me to spend 10 days going to Phoenix (where it’s much warmer than Colorado) to ride bikes, and we began talking about what I would ride.  My road bike, Sir Lancelot, got badly raped by the person who housesat for me while I was in Israel, and the necessary repairs were going to cost a lot.  So I started looking around at bikes, even though I really couldn’t afford it.

Only a couple of days before we were scheduled to leave for Phoenix, Jon called and asked me to meet him at Peloton, his favorite bike shop in Fort Collins, which sits directly across the street from Intel where he works.  I arrived a little before he did, and began telling Julia of Peloton what I’d liked in my search so far.  I even whipped out my phone and showed pictures of Kim Goldman on the Israel Ride, because Kim is totally my hero, and while I can never expect to ride like her, she inspires me to continue to do all that I can.  And I absolutely loved her now-famous pink bike!

So by the time Jon walked in the door, Julia was already on her way to fetch the bike that she thought would fit me.  She had already inquired about my height and other apparently pertinent data, and she brought out a Specialized Ruby in a gorgeous purple/gray.  That was it!  Love at first site!  And the love deepened considerably when I sat in the saddle…

Happy, happy girl showing off on her new bicycle

I discovered that my bike was the seventh one that Jon had purchased in this store, so I got truly remarkable service.  After all sorts of adjustments, I was out on the road for a test ride, smiling so broadly that my jaw started aching later in the day.  I was simply in awe at how fabulous it was to ride a bike that actually fit ME!  If you’ve followed this blog, you know that I started my training for the Israel Ride on my beach cruiser, Priscilla.  Then my friend Mike Towbin gave me the fabulous vintage Miyata 1000 road bike that I named Sir Lancelot (Lance), along with clipless pedals and riding shoes.  Slowly I began to look like a semi-serious rider.  But even with lots of effort, bike mechanics could never quite make Lance fit me, and after the strange rape of Lance, the gears simply didn’t work smoothly, so I was riding with a lot of limitations ~ the bike’s on top of my own.

So there’s no way I could ever adequately express the joy that I feel in riding the new bike.  In Phoenix, we rode and rode.  My delight was overflowing, day after day.  And during that time, I decided on her name.  (Yes, she’s definitely a feminine bike, all girly like me.)  It seemed to be time to recognize my beloved dog, Reggae, who started all this bike-riding mishegas.  So I named her Reggae Girl.  Blowing through my mind were all the times I had ruffled Reggae’s fur and said, “Who’s my Reggae Reggae Boy?!”  I loved him so much, and memories of him still light up my life every day.  And now Reggae Girl would be one more reminder of the noble and loving Reggae Boy.

Viewing the desert beauty of Papago Park, December, 2012.

Oh! Oh!  Did I mention that she is made of carbon?  I barely know what that means, but I can tell you that she weighs nothing from the few times that I rode up to a dead-end or a long flight of stairs and ended up carrying her.  NOTHING!  And I was so excited to show her off to Rachel, Ariel and Matan when they came over to eat shakshuka on Shabbat morning.  Matan just got a new bike from Peloton, too.  He’s 11, and he did Hazon’s Sukkah Bike Hop with me last fall (I posted about it) on his old bike, so now we know we have to ride again!

And did I tell you how FAST Reggae Girl rides?  I am so fortunate.  Thanks, Ya-ya!!

“Honey, does this bike make my butt look FAST?”