First 3 Days Bike Commuting
Well, I am halfway through my third day of bike commuting and totally enjoy it. My only issue is that the 29 inch wheels don't fit in the bike rack on the RTD bus very well. Every day I get more and more paranoid that my bike will be flattened by the bus carrying it. Oh well, I guess the rest of the world will have to catch up to the larger wheels.....which if I haven't mentioned it ROCK!!!!!! Smoother transitions over curbs and other terrain features and more efficient climbing. Yay!!!! Well, as I continue to rool through the Denver metro area, I will post more. Seems like I am turning into my brother (a little bitanyway)!!!!!

29 inch Gas Crunch

Well, I have finally given in and become a public transportation / bicycle commuter. The gas prices have gone down a little since the huge increases of the last year, but I still really enjoyed driving. Well the ol' gas guzzling family truckster finally became too much to bear. Only once did I let the tank go near empty and ninety-something dollars later, I decided to start utilizing Public Trans. My employer provides me with the Public Trans, but I still needed a way to get the excercise that has been lacking in the morninings and evenings, so I purhcased a new bicycle.

I spent many hours looking, researching and riding. I haven't owned a mountain bike in over 12 years, so I was not really shocked {more pleasantly surprised} to find the plethora of new and better options in the field. I went to several larger shops, franchises really, and looked at their pretty generic selection of commuter specials, free-riding bikes for kids with more money than sense, and of course, top end full suspension rides.
Now, even over 12-13 years, there are still some constants in the biking field. For example, Shimano still makes the LX, XT, and XTR component groups. What shocked me was that LX has now become more of an upper level component group. Two shops really stuck out in my mind as great service oriented places to find a new ride: Alpha Bicycle (Centennial, CO) and Campus Cycles. Both shops have incredibly friendly and knowledgable staff. Eventually I landed on a Gary Fisher XCaliber 29. And I must say that the 29 inch wheels on this bike make cycling a much more pleasant experience.