Buying My Bike

In March, before there was The 100 mile Ride, Billy came up with a new fitness plan of bicycling- and he probably regrets that now, because he didn't know it would lead to a girlfriend obsessed with bicycling. He did an extensive amount of research online and through friends before he said a word that he was even considering buying a bike. He had all of the parts analyzed and scoped out before he ever set foot in the bike store! All of his advance work paid off because he knew exactly what he wanted and found out where to get it.
The Cannondale Bad Boy, matte black- a beauty! He had it customized to his liking with new wheels, handlebars, pedals and all the extras and by the next day it was ready for him to ride!
My process of buying a bike wasn't quite as easy. It has been a long time since I have had a bike of my own. My first bike ever was lavender banana seat bike with pom poms on the handle bars. My grandfather bought it for me one day when he was just "going out to get a cup of coffee," and for years I rode it around the neighborhood or wherever I could get at that age. Since then, I have always borrowed bikes or picked up whatever was in my parents garage at the time... a 1970s men's Schwinn or a hand-me-down, left behind Trek Mountain bike from the brothers... something of those sorts. So now that I was ready to buy a real bike, I had to get it right. I have a few things working against me 1) my height, and 2) my indecisiveness. I went to approximately 6 bike shops in the New York area over a few weeks and tried different brands, different sizes, different models. I talked to all types of sales people and brand reps and asked them a ton of beginner questions, like when they ask well what are you looking for and you stare at them blankly and say, "a bike- but I know nothing about them" I went for multiple test bike rides in Brooklyn and SoHo, trying to get the feel for what I am suppose to feel like on a bike. I ended up buying a Woman's Specific Design bike, which was a great choice for my petite legs and arms-I ended up with a Specialized Dolce Elite, and when I told my mom about it, her reaction was "sweeeeet"
Here they are Tiny and Biggs!