Training and Shopping

Training Day 1:
Bike 50 minutes. I have no bike yet so this was done at 24 Hour Fitness. My plan for today was to just get through, since I haven't ridden in I-don't-know-how-long. My rpms averaged 85-90 the whole time and I traveled 12.95mi. Legs felt wobbly afterwards, but not too bad. Next time I need to remember to bring a water bottle. Want a real bike.
And that leads to my first official shopping trip. I went into Waikiki after I got back from the gym to check out Island Triathlon & Bike and ask some questions. Fred, the guy who I talked to while I was there, was great. I rode the bike in and parked it in from of the store and he was immediately saying, "All right! Two wheels are better than four. Now you have to be the engine." I told him that's what I was there for and he grabbed me to start pointing the way.
Talk about an intense salesman. But in a good way. Fred wasn't trying to sell me because he needed the commission or because its his job. Fred loves this stuff. Loves loves loves. And that is a whole different kind of sales pitch. "Check this out!" and "Look at these!" and "Feel this! Weighs nothing!" It's like if I got a job at a Yamaha bike shop. I would be crazy on the poor customers. Alas, Fred's store was also about as high-end as it could have gotten. I quickly realized I was not in the right place.
"Ok," Fred said to me, "you aren't going to want to buy the lowest level bike. You really should start a step above that so you're really getting a better deal for your money. Here is our step-above bike." It's a beauty. It's also $1,500. My brain twitches. "Uh, Fred, maybe we should look at the low-end bike." Which we did. Another beautiful piece of machinery. $800. "Of course, we'll let you finance interest free for twelve months. The bike and everything else you'll need, which should be another $200-300." Yeeeeaaahhhh...ummm, sorry dude. I'm pretty sure that's just not going to happen.
Basically, I went into a fancy jewelry shop and said, "Hey, I want one of them rings that changes color when I'm mad." Or I walked into a Ducati dealer looking for a moped. "But a quick one! In red!"
Fred understood, even pointed me towards a used bike shop on the island which I'll check out Monday, since they are closed on Sunday. He also answered other gear questions I had. The gear at their store was, like the bikes, really nice. And really a whole lotta much money. If I ever do get really in to the sport and am willing to drop some serious change on it, Island Triathlon & Bike will get my money. But not today.
Also, I'm working on getting a paypal donation account set up for this blog. Hopefully will be all ready to go in a few days.
Tomorrow, a run!