cycling
12. August, 17:50 Uhr
I'm fortunate enough to have a job where part of my salary structure includes a fairly large bonus, paid in a lump sum at some point in the year. This year is the first time I'm actually eligible for the bonus. Wednesday, my boss says, "Hey, let's get together to talk about bonus stuff tomorrow."
Immediately I get excited: I'm going to buy a new bike! Based on what I knew the size of the bonus should be, I knew exactly what type of bike I'd like. I go to my LBS, and I take a Cannondale Synapse Carbon Disc Ultegra for a test ride. Carbon everything, Ultegra Di2... I get on the bike and it feels like I'm riding on a chorus of angels. It's so freaking fast. I tell the guy I'll be in next week to pick it up.
A bit about by current road bike: it's a 2011 Specialized Allez Elite. I've swapped out the handlebars, stem, cassette, pedals, saddle, and wheels. Then the rear wheel got a dent in it, so now I have mismatch wheels. It's a fine ride, but I just felt like if I have the money, why not upgrade?
Fast forward to meeting with my boss. He hands me a slip of paper with my bonus payout on it. It turns out, we have two bonuses: a performance bonus and a considerably smaller "utilization" bonus, which is based on how much you were booked with clients. This isn't my performance bonus, it's my utilization bonus, and it's about 8 times smaller than what I was expecting. I definitely can't afford the Synapse on it.
So I'm bummed. I've had a lot of things going on in my life, and I haven't really ridden much in the past month due to those issues and an injury I sustained in a bike wreck. I was super stoked about the bike, and it kind of felt like it was going to be a "clean start": a new bike, I'm healed up from my wreck. I had these visions of feeling great and gliding along on this new carbon wonderbike. That's not happening, at least not now.
Yesterday I get on my Specialized with mismatched wheels and decide I'm going to get out and really push it. I get in 18 miles, and I rode harder than I ever have. I get exhausted. I get second, third, fourth, and fifth winds. I wind up setting **23** personal records in Strava. It feels great to push myself, and it just generally feels great to ride after a month of inactivity.
I get home and I hang my bike up, and I feel guilty. This bike I have is still *perfectly good*. Sure, I'd like 11 gears, and I'd like wheels that match. I can "fix" those issues, and it would be a far sight cheaper than a new Synapse. But, even without those changes, the bike is great like it is.
Would I like a new bike? Sure. Do I need a new bike? Absolutely not! The ride yesterday showed me that I haven't even touched the performance potential I have on the bike. So as I cry over the first world problem of getting a smaller bonus than I anticipated, I'm going to be happy with what I've got, and know that it's more bike than I even need.