My Commuting Bike. A story of Love and Hate.

To be told "You're not going to commute in every day on that?!" when you've just shelled out £3500 for a nice shiny lightwieght road bike was a bit of a kick in the balls. A bit like being given a slab of luxury chocolate cake and then being told "Don't eat it all!" is.

Begrudgingly I have to admit they were right. The purchase had been made as spell of warm, dry and sunny conditions graced our shores and the thought of nutsack freezing ice and snow had been firmly put to one side for the year and the argument of carbon fibre vs road salt were not at the forefront of my mind as I was eagerly handing over my Credit Card to the bike shop owner- not to mention the hours of heavy cleaning that come with an expensive bike, the fact that it was Wight just compounded the issue. So with a heavy heart and an empty wallet my search began for a useable steed that could withstand the rigours of riding on our pot holed roadways when the weather turned murky.

I did have an agenda at least. She had to be cheap. She also had to be functional. I wanted a bike that asked for minimal care and upkeep, but was a reliable friend that could be dependable whatever was asked of it - like those big labrador dogs you see looking lovingly through the window of a shop at the owner inside whilst being tied to a lamp post in the pouring rain.

Magazines were thumbed and the Internet browsed for any potential matchmates. Some were pretty but looked 'high maintenance' and as they would lack the depth needed to last the distance, I could see us having a big argument not too far down the line. Others were just out of my (very limited) budget.

I had pretty much given up on my quest as a mission impossible, when buried under a pile of spares strapped to pallet marked 'unwanted' in a dark and musty corner of a warehouse sprang this little lovely.

Ok, so she was missing a few parts, she had a (saddle) nose that would put Barry Manilow to shame and like a fat lass she was two frame sizes too big, but she was going cheap and her looks meant that I wouldn't be bothered about riding her in the inclement conditions or spending hour upon hour cleaning and re-lubing her afterwards. The fact that it had wrap around mudguards sealed the deal. She was mine. That night parts from the spares box were pressed into action, bolts tightened and adjusted, lights fitted and tyres inflated. We were ready for the world!

This seems like many moons ago now. Since then she has seen me safely through two bitterly cold winters (one ride had the Merucury at -14) and has shrugged off the snow, ice, fog and horizontal rain with very little maintenance, just the odd squirt of lube to see off the odd squeek here and there and some 'temporary fixes' that have become more 'permanent' as time goes on.

Admittedly, when the Clocks go forward and the conditions allow her sexy sister to become my main plaything, then she gets a final going over (full strip and rebuild) before being stored in the corner of the garage to build up her Spiderweb collection again for a few months, but every now and again the weather becomes typically 'British' and she shall see service during the Summer months - something she finds odd.

I have lavished some extravagancies on her. XTR pedals may be an odd choice to put onto a road bike like this, but having had my fair share of one legging it out in front of oncoming Cement Mixers because I can't engage the cleat into the single sided road pedals in time plus a rapid trip down the stairs at work because of the solid carbon souls of the road 'disco slippers' has convinced me of the benefits of a dual sider for commuting.

I've also replaced the bar tape (Lurid yellow fits the nature of this bike and gets you seen) a couple of times and am on my second set of (700 x 35) puncture proof tyres - with a set of studded Schwalbe Marathon Winter spikes for the wight stuff. There may have been the odd tube here and there too.

Our relationship has been a happy one and she doesn't mind me seeing her Sister or treating her mean, she's just happy to have me onboard and excited to see what the next ride has to offer!

I'm a happy man!

I feel that before I close this post I must point out that I indeed do know that these are bicycles - not real people and that, yes I do have a Girlfriend thankyou very much - although she does think I'm a bit wierd...