Cross-Check a Keeper

After her first real ride on her new Surly Cross-Check Tricia pronounced it a keeper. Let the upgrades begin!

New bike saddness

As I look at Tricia's new Surly Cross-Check, propped up in front of our Christmas tree, I find myself charmed by its new-born innocence.

The cassettes and chain rings are sparkling. The chain still shines. The paint is pure; without adolescent pimples or old warrior battle scars. The tires have barely encountered pavement.
Because it's only a 42cm frame it also has that young colt, all legs and knees look that make me think of spring, hope, and corn ball movies.

What is it about a new bike that makes it so beautiful? In a coldly rational evaluation it's a machine that still needs a water bottle cage, a seat bag with a spare, new pedals (or at least toe straps), a pump, a bunch of adjustments, and, in this bikes case, a rack, panniers, and a light. It will take hours to make it really useful, and when it's done it will be great. But it will also look like a bike with baggage. All its clean perfection will be obscured by the very things that make it ride worthy. It was purchased not to be a jewel, but to be a solid citizen commuter, carrying school papers and a molder of young minds to school each day. It will be doing noble work, and will be dressed appropriately for it's task. It will be beautiful.

So then why am I somewhat sad? Why do I wish she'd just leave it in the warm, dry, safe living room a bit longer?

New Stallion in stable

I innocently took Tricia to the City to "check out" some bikes. After a mere four stores she started to kinda sorta consider the Surly Cross-Check, a cool steel cyclocross bike.

They had her size, and were willing to ship it to a closer store if she called them after she'd thought about it a while.
But, well, after a parking lot ride, and, lunch and, hey, there we were anyway.....

So this will become her commuter bike, and her current commuter bike with transmogrify back to the mountain bike she's been missing.

I guess I'll be working on my fender, computer, rack, seat bag, pump and pedal adding skills soon.

How will Tricia adjust to bar end shifters? Will she actually be willing to add a bunch of junk to her now-clean bike? Will she miss her triple chain rings? We'll see, and of course, obsessively blog about it.