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Friday, July 11, 2008

Uh.

Hi there! My name is Mark, and welcome to Mark's Used Thoughts Emporium!

'ts been awhile.

In case you haven't been paying attention, the Americans have been tearing up the Tour de France (so far). By "Americans," I mean the two teams sponsored by American companies--not many of their riders are actually from the U.S. Though it looks like they won't have a finisher in the top 4-5 for today's stage. I guess this is day 7.

I want a road bike. Actually, I want a lightish touring bike that I could use for commuting, touring, and just plain riding. My "commute" is not so daunting that my old Trek hardtail can't handle it--1.25 miles either way, with a decent climb--but it would be more enjoyable with a smoother bike. I did add old school clips to my pedals, and added a used, but higher quality saddle. I think I will upgrade to a new saddle soon. But still, I want a touring bike.

Either of these would do nicely:

Raleigh Sojourn:


Suggested retail: $1,099


Jamis Aurora Elite:


Suggested retail: $1,350.

The Jamis has more upscale components (Ultegra and 105, vs. Deore/Tiagra/Sora for the Raleigh), and it's lighter and has a carbon fork and a better wheelset. But, the Raleigh has disc brakes, better gearing for this part of the country, is slightly cheaper, and it looks awesome with the leather saddle and bar wraps. Jamis also has a more entry-level version of the Aurora that goes for about $900 that has components similar to the Raleigh, so that's another option. I could always upgrade components later if I got serious about it.

I just need to find $1,300 lying around somewhere. We are having a garage sale tomorrow, but I doubt if it will net that much. It will probably wait until next spring, at least, because before long, the snow will be flying again, anyway.

I need to go fishing again. Last time out I got skunked, but have been consistently catching decent rainbows and brookies prior to that. I think I'll try the Little Laramie River this time. It should finally be down enough to be fishable.

Happy Friday.

-m




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