I like to think that I don’t buy into shiny new toys that much. I know that I am terribly wrong about that fact though, as I type this entry, with tonight’s purchase being the biggest one yet. After reaching, what I thought was, a pretty good record on my old bike, I have been asking many people about their opinions on a road bike.

The biggest draw card for me is the ability to go faster than other types of bikes and therefore go for longer rides. For some crazy reason, the notion of being able to keep up with some cars on some roads makes me feel less of a target than I would if I were on that same road riding at a snail’s pace. Overtaking other cyclists has a good thrill-factor and a road bike certainly gives plenty of opportunities for that. It was only last week when I borrowed a road bike from Dan (I owe ya) that I realised how much of an enjoyable difference they can make on a big ride.

When I buy (shiny new) things I tend to become quite obsessive about it, researching heavily about all sorts of brands and technologies and the best value for money but somehow I managed to avoid all of that. Thanks to a bit of fortune (aka Mark and Lisa!), I am now the proud owner of an Avanti Vivace bike. I could describe all of the features and specifications. The bike’s feature set and price is guaranteed to give me great mileage out of my first road bike and I can’t wait to go riding.

Here are a few more pictures: