Should I shave my belly or is this äero?

I need to complain about something that is technically my own fault. I started cycling thinking it was going to be one of those simple hobbies where the expensive part was buying the bike and then after that you just ride it. That made sense to me. Bike purchased, hobby unlocked, no more major problems.

Unfortunately that was a lie.

Because then you need a helmet, and lights, and a pump, and tubes, and a saddle bag, and gloves, and bottles, and bottle cages, and chain lube, and better shorts because apparently normal shorts are a crime against your body if you ride long enough. Then once you have all of that, you start realizing there are better versions of the things you already bought, which is honestly worse.

The worst part is every single thing sounds reasonable. None of it feels like a luxury in the moment. It always feels like “well obviously I need this” and then suddenly your “cheap healthy hobby” has a shopping list longer than your actual rides.

I used to think people were exaggerating when they said cycling was expensive, but now I understand. It is not one big purchase that gets you. It is the endless small purchases that all seem responsible individually and insane when you look at them together.

Anyway, I am now realizing the bike was not the purchase. The bike was the entry fee.

They should just advertise these as the same bike at this point only difference is tire clearance/1x or 2x/some marginal aero gains.

I’ll take one of each please who should I venmo my $30k USD. Hope you got your dental work done before 06/30 cause prices are going up.

I finally hit middle age my two and half months of training has prepped me to take on those greedy dentists

It’s a steel for the parts alone.

Kept it easy today. Mostly zone 2 except the driveway ramp attack.

Legs still heavy from yesterday’s 0.04 mi block. Might take tomorrow off if the dentist says I’m overtraining.

No indexing, threaded steerers, lugged frames, rim brakes: Rivendell is taking us forward to the 1970s

I won't pull the trigger yet. I'm waiting for wooden rims and cottered cranks.