In The Stable: current bikes and mileage

2001 Cannondale CAAD4
15,788 miles

My second real road bike after the 1970-something FujiClub that I rode my first two years. Bought new as a R-800 from Blue Sky Bikes with 105 components and cheap wheelset. Bought Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheelset after first year (and thrashing the cheap set during a triathlon). Recent upgrade has made this great bike even better - FSA carbon cranks, seat post and handlebar, along with all Ultegra controls.

2004 Specialized Epic Disc Comp
1,073 miles

My first real mountain bike after using a 1992 Fuji Thrill fully rigid off-road bike to tool around local roads and wood trails. Donna encouraged me to get a good bike after I convinced her and myself that I wanted to get serious about mountain biking. The full suspension vs. hard-tail question was resolved when the rear shock 'Brain' was experienced during demo. Also purchased new at Blue Sky, the Epic is a good light weight XC bike that I could use for some racing, but would serve well as I learned to tackle more technical terrain.

1998 Trek Y-Foil 77
655 miles

I seriously considered a Y-Foil when shopping for the Cannondale having read great reviews and being attracted to its unique design. I used the excuse of needing an aero bike for triathlons to re-open the Y-foil craving. My first Ebay purchase, it was already set-up with Dura Ace components and carbon Profile Design fork, handlebar/aerobars with bar-end shifters. The price and components were irresistible. It came to me a mess - so dirty and plastered with ugly decals, I was upset at first. But a thorough cleaning and decal removal made it look like new again. When I bought at a winter close-out sale a Cane Creek Aerohead wheelset and bright red Selle Italia saddle, it became complete. It has become my solo bike for long distance riding and time-trialing bike for duathlon or triathlon relay legs. I often forget to ride it because I love riding the Cannondale so much.

2002 Yeti AS-X
228 miles

When it became apparent that the Epic had to go into the shop for Fork service in June, I become despondent. After all, the weather had just allowed the woods to dry out (well as much as they would in 2006). Donna once again encouraged me to get a back-up bike, because of the way I was riding, down-time for repairs is a reality in mountain biking. So, if I wanted to keep riding the trail - another mountain bike was 'necessary.' We had great luck with Ebay so far with the Y-Foil and an Epic that we bought for Donna being great buys. So, it was back to Ebay to look for the second mountain bike. Now the question of travel and hard-tail vs. full suspension reared its ugly head again. I almost went the hard-tail route, but in the end decided it was more suspension travel I needed, not less. The SMBA and Spier Falls trails were technical enough to make a 4 to 6-inch travel justified. The Yeti 575 attracted my attention, but the prices were pretty steep considering this was to be a 'back-up' bike. Finally I found the AS-X, which now is a full-blown downhill bike, but in 2002 was similar to the 575. It arrived in near new condition, for about 1/3 of the new bike price. I was able to put it together and inflate the tires and start riding. After the Epic came back, it remained my primary bike and I sought out the more technical terrain to keep riding it.

2004 Lemond Poprad
532 miles

The 'need' for this bike arose from the fact that I wanted to ride and train outdoors more. Spin classes during the winter of 04-05 served me well in weight control and conditioning, but left my knees in bad shape. I needed the full float of my Speedplay pedals. So, I resolved to get better weatherproof gear and ride more in the winter. I did not want to subject the Cannondale or the Y-foil or Epic to the harsh sand, salt and muddy conditions. I have also played with the idea of doing some Cyclocross racing. So, back to Ebay in search of a bike. While it makes no sense to go with a steel frame in light of the salty conditions, steel is what I got in order to have a steel frame to compare to the aluminum and carbon frames I had already. The Lemond geometry in the CX bike was attractive to try also. Once again I found a bike that was like new, but this time it was not at a fraction of the cost. Still, it was a good value buy. The bike has worked well for training in cold, wet weather. I have had it out on my "5-Hills," a circuit of climbs that takes about 1 1/2 hours to complete the 22 miles in temperatures down to the single digits and in the rain, ice and snow.