Things & Other Things...

New weigh-in...

Smallest loss yet, but that is cool as it was bound to happen [and I'm eating the same things, the same amounts of the same things and riding more, so perhaps it's a plateau and/or building some different muscle mass ~Amy's opinion, I'll take it].

Weight: 278.2
Loss of: 4.6 pounds
Total Loss since 11/05: 222.8 pounds

Rode over to Grand Performance earlier today to grab a new tub of chamois cream for my riding diaper.  Odd place, everyone working there [that I saw and that had shorts on] and all the customers [except me, of course] had shaved legs [and no, only one of them was a chick].  I think they thought I was odd... the salesman who helped me suggested that my goatee wasn't very aero.  I told him it was when I coated it with a couple GU packets and chamois cream.
Two guys walked in and looked at my ride.  The one guy said, "Nice vintage bike... musta got it off eBay", while the other guy mumbled, "That, or it was dumpster-dived".
But the best moment was taking my time opening/loading/then closing the chamois cream into my Carradice bag so I could eavesdrop on a salesman going large on a customer who was interested in a mid-level Bianchi carbon/aluminum bike.

Salesman:

Great bike, it'll do everything.  Of course, later... as you get fit and competitive you'll want better.  And we sell better too.

Customer:

Do I need things with it?  Like stuff to wear?

Salesman:

Of course.  And we sell all that too.  Honestly, what I'd recommend would be a basic package consisting of 3 pairs of cycling shorts, you'll want ultra-lightweight ones... this weather is HOT, and 6 or 7 micro-fiber jerseys.  The jerseys tend to smell bad, so you'll want more of them than shorts.  You'll need some nice, racy wrap-around sunglasses, a lightweight aero helmet, like 10 pair of socks and then shoes.

Customer [looking and sounding overwhelmed]:

Wow, that's a lot of accessories.  Can't I just wear... you know, regular clothes?

Salesman [laughing]:

No... well, er, yeah you can, but why would you?  Racers wear this stuff for a reason, and so should you.  Trust me, this stuff works.  And it looks great too.

Customer:

What kind of shoes?

Salesman:

We sell two kinds... one kind you can walk in, and the other, you can't.  Think you'll do much walking?

Customer:

Ummm, well yes and no.  Yes, when I'm walking to and from the bike.  And no, when I'm on the bike.

Salesman:

Exactly.  You'll need two pairs then, one of each kind.  Trust me.

At this point I walked out of the shop.

In other news...

Amy said my face has changed.  I asked, "In a good way or bad way?"  She hunted around on our hard drive and found this photo of me that was snapped 10 months ago, on Chloe's birthday, while sitting on our stoop back east:

And this pic which Amy took today upon my arrival back home after a 35-mile ride in the blazing 95 degree heat [yet again] of Minnesota:

I think she's right.

Keep Diggin'... Always

Comments

[Paul in Cin City]

Your face has changed, your eyes don't open any more! *rim shot* "I've got a million of 'em folks."

Vintage bike, dumpster dive...hilarious.

Pushing high profit margin accessories to a tyro in such an aggressive way...shameless. I think that's why a lot of want-to-try-cycling people walk out of bike stores and never get into it. Explaining what they have and why people wear them is one thing, the "ya gotta have it" thing is another. Maybe there will be a nice big glob of grease on the floor of the shop with is name on it.

[Bone]

Damn dude, it was only a coupla months ago that we were cruising Jersey, and I wouldn't even recognize you anymore.

You should write a cookbook with all your vegan secrets in it. I'd buy it!

[Phil Sabin]

Congratulations on your continued weight loss. I am on that journey myself.

Phil

[billc]

I think i saw you (and your family? it was a quick sighting) walking down to see some of the 35W bridge on Friday night. I thought about saying hi, i've been reading your blog for a while, but didn't want to intrude on the moment. If it was you, hi! I was the guy on the Surly with generator light riding up the hill.

[Paz]

Last time I was in GP they charged me $6.00 for a generic brake cable. I swore I would never go back.

GP is only interested in working with racers which I guess is their prerogative. Steve Hed (Hed wheel fame), if I'm not mistaken, used to be an owner.

Freewheel and One-On-One IMO are the best shops in town. I've heard good things about Hollywood Cycles but the distance from mi casa is daunting.

[CSB]

Hah, that sounds like experiences I've had before, but never so drastic. When I purchased my last bike, I did my best "doe in the headlights" impression despite being a very informed consumer. And of course, the shops ate it right up. To the point where one was trying to get me to test ride a Madone, and I finally gave up the act. I informed them that I appreciate that they needed to earn a profit, but sticking my butt on a Madone was downright dangerous.

I've gone back to said shop only because the person who did that is no longer there, I'm sure dismayed that he couldn't sell anything.

The one I did buy from listened to my exact needs, and didn't take advantage of my doe-in-the-headlights. They steered me toward two bikes I had already been looking at, and in the end sold me one I never researched but ended up loving.

However, I still see that very thing happen far too often. There needs to be less racers and more riders.

[Eric S.]

Don't forget about Hiawatha Cyclery in Minneapolis. They're not gonna mistake a sweet ride for a dumpster-dive steed.
http://hiawathacyclery.com

Behind Bars bike shop in Nordeast Minneapolis is also great. Chuck (the owner) is a great mechanic and very helpful (especially for the singlespeed crowd).
http://www.behind-bars.com/main.html
http://www.startribune.com/172/story/37136.html

Downtown St. Paul has the bike depot, but my experiences there have been hit-and-miss.
http://bikeped.org

Somewhat related: You can always grab a coffee at the Cars-R-Coffins coffeeshop in south Minneapolis. Hurl (the owner) appreciates good bikes of all kinds.
http://www.crccoffeebar.blogspot.com/

[Jim]

"Don't forget about Hiawatha Cyclery in Minneapolis. They're not gonna mistake a sweet ride for a dumpster-dive steed."

Ha! We usually mistake dumpster-dive steeds for sweet rides!

[bro]

Theres nothing quite like heading out on a Sunday with fellow clubbies and doing a hunnert miles with nothing but a spare tube, a pump, two cliff bars (God they do look a lot like turds, dont they?), two packets of GU and two bottles of water. My time doing that is over, but yours is just beginning. I am envious. Its easy to understand why, when doing so regulalrly, the clothes come off. But I was never much of a snob about it, and my best riding buddies started out with 5 breathless miles and sore muscles on a dumpster bike, just as I did. Philly has a few of those shops, the "my shit doesn't stink" carbon-fiber triangle roadies with the shaved legs are our only priority shops. One even has a talented mechanic, so I brave those turbulent waters. A few years back I rode over to BT before a ride went off in town on a Thursday night (Vino-velo) during a mid August Noreaster to get a something-or-rather. I clonked in dripping in my cleats and spandex and the owner said "you look good, like one of those crazy Belgian riders who ride in any weather." Even though it was meant as one, I'm not sure it was a compliment. Riding doesn't have to be about looking good.

[Tiffany]

Wow - you are losing a lot of weight. Good for you. I found your blog recently and I love it. How do you like living in the midwest compared to NYC?

[Tiffany]

Oh - sorry one more comment. I have been mountain biking for many years (10+) never really great but I have fun and enjoy myself. I still do not own a pair of biking shorts or a jersey.

[Treadly and Me]

Wow, what a suckhole that salesman is! Unfortunately that's not an isolated incident--it happens everywhere...

Like Paul in Cin City said, what hope have new but nervous people got in the face of crap like that?

By the way, I reckon you're trying to pull a fast one--those photos can't be of the same person! :-)

[Fritz]

Good job on the continued weight loss, Fella. Some of those comments you overheard really torque me off; grrrrrr.....

[Chris]

The last time I took a bike shop salesmonkey seriously was just before I overheard him telling a customer that a titanium bike frame was beadblasted because that "compacted the metal and made it stronger." Thank goodness for mail order!

[Tom]

Weight: 278.2
Loss of: 4.6 pounds
Total Loss since 11/05: 222.8 pounds

Man, that's great. Your family is lucky that you saw the light. I see so many really big folks with small children, and I wonder if they'll be around when their children graduate from HS. Sad...