She is a 2009 Specialized Women’s Globe Carmel 1 26″ Hybrid Bicycle and she was purchased on Sunday afternoon at Montgomery Cyclery in Cincinnati. I love her! As a hybrid bike she has the comfort of a cruiser or townie bike (not to mention the stylin’ retro look she’s sporting!) but she’s also equipped with 21 speeds, shocks, and thicker mountain bike tires to handle paths, trails, and other more uneven terrains. Since I’m not a hardcore 45 miles-a-day biker nor am I one to take on a steep mountain trek, I didn’t need a $1,800 mountain bike, but I did want to be able to hit the paths and trails with Ted and actually keep up – so a sweet little street cruiser wasn’t going to cut it either. Essentially, as a hybrid, she’s the best of both worlds. She’s got the comfort and stellar looks of a cruiser, but the sturdiness, technical specs, and go-get-’em of a more serious bike.
Carmela on her way home!
I’ve been planning to buy a bike for almost two years now. A while back I even created a list of all the nifty bikes and biking accessories I’d painstakingly researched, stalked and hand picked for their excellent reviews, functionality, and adorableness (which is clearly the most important factor here.) I was always jealous of the great bike rides Ted took when he was living in Lansing and I dreamed of all the fun we’d have suiting up in our biking gear in the morning, loading our bikes, water bottles and a picnic lunch into his truck and taking off for a sunny afternoon of biking in a nearby state park. I’ve also often considered how nice it would be to hop on the bike for a quick ride to the ice cream parlor or for a jaunt to the store to pick up milk instead of wasting fuel for the car. If we lived close enough, we could bike to work even!
Another good thing about bikes is that they’re completely customizable. Not only can you adjust things like the seat and handlebar heights, gears, and tires, but you can also add on helpful accessories: a more cushioned seat, nicer handlebars, side mirrors, a helmet, bell, handlebar basket, LED lights for night riding, reflectors, a water bottle cage and insulated water bottle, or a speed, mileage and fitness tracking device – among countless other products. The day we purchased Carmela we also took home two bike stands for the bed of Ted’s truck so we can transport both bikes together without the risk of scratching them or the truck. We don’t plan to ride at night all that often so the reflectors that came with the bike should do just fine. Additionally, I probably don’t need the side mirrors, tracking device, or the handlebar basket, even though they are kind of awesome and if they were free I’d certainly put my name in that drawing! Mustn’t be greedy though! Here are a few of the accessories I am looking into:
Schwinn Women's Starlet Wave Helmet in Green. Safety first!
If I were getting a basket, I'd definitely buy into this classic Wald Front Woody Basket. Sadly, I'm not. Yet. Or until I can no longer resist the temptation.
For the time being, I'll be using this lime green & silver one-shoulder sling from Jansport as my bike basket.
In all honestly, I really do love this Jansport bag. I got it for Christmas back in 2007 in preparation for my summer study abroad trip in England, and it really is fantastic, comfortable to wear, durable, and cute. It even matches the other bike accessories above (please try to remember what’s really important here).
As a side note, did you know that helmets can cost upwards of $500? I was sure they were joking, silently pranking the fool who actually thought a helmet could go for a cool $500. They weren’t. I’m sure the more advanced biker can look at that helmet and tell me exactly why it is definitely worth an entire two-week paycheck, a month’s grocery bill for a small family, or a year’s worth of college textbooks. I, however, cannot fathom how it differs so vastly from the $24.99 helmet that one would feel compelled to squander away a small portion of their life savings on it. Technically, I do know that the more expensive the helmet, the more air vents it has and the less heavy it is. All of this would be noteworthy to a racer. In summary, the lighter the helmet and the less material used in its construction, the more expensive it is. Just like a bikini. Got it. Then again, I’m not an advanced biker so it just seems absurd to me. Maybe the Super Snazzy T8000 helmet comes equipped with GPS navigation, an iPod, a fan, a pop-up umbrella and personal sunscreen applicator. That’d be pretty rad, right?
At the store Ted had to try on the $250 version, just to see for himself what the big squeal was all about. “Well, it is comfortable,” he said. I would hope so. Then he gave me a fairly significant, albeit unexpected, thwack on the $34.99 helmet resting on my head. Guess what? It worked, and for 1/20th the price of the Super Snazzy T8000. Good enough for me.
Having her makes me feel just like a kid again and I can’t wait until I can take her out on our first real ride! In the next few weeks while Ted’s knee is finishing healing from the surgery, we’re hoping to fix up his bike and get all necessary maintenance and repairs done on it so we’ll be ready to ride together in no time at all! It’s all very exciting and I’m so grateful to have a bike again!
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