A New Bike - A Fuji

Greetings Readers

Tracey is so close to 10,000 miles and is basically showing her wear. And unfortunately, the wear and tear is on the crank – specifically the teeth. The teeth are worn down to nubs as opposed to the sharp teeth and every now and then the chain slips and that is not good.

She was beginning to show trouble late last year and since then I have been putting off buying a new bike. A new “beater” bike that is.

Readers, in case you need to know a “beater” bike to me is a bike that I can use everyday that I do not want to use my good bikes. As well as use in any type of bad weather – rain, snow, sleet, hail and high winds. This is bike I do care about since I will be using this when I do not want to use my good bikes.

However, this year I rode all of my good bikes throughout the year. Amazing, but I could not really rely on Tracey and was getting tired of the chain skipping on me more and more. I have to admit that it was kind of not my MO to ride good bikes almost everyday.

Yes, the simplest solution would be to purchase a new crank, but usually the beater bike was a bike I bought out at close out prices – meaning “cheap! Cheap! Cheap!” And to buy a new crank the price would almost be ¾ of what I bought the bike for. In the long run it is easier to buy a brand new beater bike, in my opinion.

I think I was the bike store and I happened to look at the bikes on a chance. One this I was not going to do was buy another Scattante bike. Nothing against Scattante, but I feel that brand of bike is not my type of bike after getting Rebecca a few years. Granted, she runs (as my former ex coworker would say) “awesome”, but I quite do not feel that harmony I should when riding her. Except for the speed she has and she was specifically built for speed. Fast, beautiful and Phat (Pretty Hot and Tight), just like the Rebecca I knew.

The bike as you can see from the picture is a Fuji. I never had a Fuji and if I remember correctly one of my “fellow” ex-bloggers had a Fuji and he did like the bike. Oh, that fellow blogger was from the ayearofbikecommuting blog. Anyway, the bike was price right and decided that I might as well. The bike will be brand new and I have a new beater bike.

Oh, the flak I got on the new bike. First and foremost was the color scheme. What the fuck was Mr. Charley thinking? That color is so not you Mr. C. I could not disagree. Yet, check this out. About a day after getting this bike one of my superior’s gave me a bike jersey. Lo and behold the bike jersey color matched the bike color scheme. No, he/she did know about the new bike and the color of the jersey was coincidence to match the bike color.

I do not have a clue what to name her. There is not a name off the top of my head that I could name this new bike.

Until the next year

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete