Road bicycles

So, in my former life as a 20-something I was an avid mountain biker. I enjoyed the crash and chaos and the mud. However, I was never very coordinated, and prone to gnarly tumbles down rocky hills. In my youth, that was not much of a problem; the scrapes and bruises were badges of honor! Now, though, that I'm 44 and wear a shirt and tie every day for work, I'm not interested in looking death in the eye.

During law school, there was a long and unfortunate hiatus from biking. I can't really tell you how it left me, but I'm thrilled that now its back full force, but in a different way: road biking.

This started about two years ago when I pulled my dusty old mountain bike out of the closet and started do to the 1/2 hour commute to work every day (in lieu of treadmilling my fat away). After a year of slogging down T Street on that leaden beast, I decided to upgrade to something designed for the task:

Me and my GT Tachyon

This bike was nearly perfect for me when I got it about six months ago. (The shop where I got it bills it as a flat bar road bike, but that is a marketing thing to sucker (I say sucker, though it is a really good commute bike) people like me into buying it.) It was much lighter than my old Trek mountain bike, the skinny tires makes the road fly by, and the geometry was great for the 7 mile ride. But then I discovered the American River Bike Trail.

This trail is possibly the best thing that Sacramento has to offer. Its long, relatively well maintained, and follows a very beautiful river from its confluence with the Sacramento River past two man-made lakes, and is strewn with wild life to look at (I've seen wild turkeys, quail, snakes, rabbits, egrets, and squirrels).

As I ride my trusty commute bike, I'm finding I can keep up with many (far from all) of the wanna-be pro riders on their made-for-the-purpose road bikes. And I'm finding I'm enjoying the speed! So the logical conclusion is: buy a road bike ASAP. To that end, I've been reading as much as I can stand about the dizzying array of road bike types and styles, and have learned a tad bit.

First, I learned that they come from no fewer than 10 manufacturers (I'm sure I've not cracked the surface, and I'm discounting anything custom made as far out of my price range.) Second, I've learned they come in a wide price range, where the price difference have mostly to do with frame material, the type of parts, and the coolness factor. Third, I've realized I don't want a crappy bike, but one that will make the other bikers not feel so bad about being behind me.

With all being said and done, it seems the bike I'll select will have an aluminum frame, a composite fork, and a Shimano 105 components (see review here). Mostly because the manufacturers I've been looking at offer such configurations in the price range.

Here's a list of the bikes I've considered so far:

1. Cannondale CAAD 10 5 105.
2. Scott, Speedster S20.
3. Trek 2.1.
4. Specialized Allez Elite Compact Double.
5. Felt F85.
6. Fuji Roubiax 1.0.
7. Giant Defy 1.

I'm reeling from the numbers...component types and price mostly...and from the marketing speak. The only thing to do is go try them all. Finding dealers with my size might be a challenge, and that is the next step. But first a ride.