Day Off

Well it's super nice to wake up on a Friday knowing that I don't have to worry about rushing to get to the studio, deal with commuting and all that usual stuff.

Still Shopping

So today is part two of me trying to find a mountain bike that I want to lay the cash down for. Yesterday I went to a few of the local bike shops and was fairly disappointed by what they had on hand. It was either your clunker used bike or a really low end model new bike. If not one of those it was your high-end $6000 - $8,000 model.

At one of the shops I did ride a few and found one full suspension bike that I liked quite a bit. I was considering almost certainly going back today to pick it up and felt even better knowing I would be supporting a local shop.

On the way home from that store though I decided to stop by Scheels and see if just by chance they had that particular model because they are a dealer for that same brand of bike I was looking at at the local shop. Unfortunately the local shop did not have the color that I wanted or the size so they would've had to order it. Not a huge deal, it only takes 2 days but wait there's more to the story.

So finally across town at the other shop, Scheels, a.k.a. "the big-box store of sporting goods" and as luck would have it, they did have that same bike, with all of the same bells and whistles and even in that color that I wanted. The big difference is that when I looked a little closer, I could not help but recognize that the price tag was nearly $300 less. Not to mention, if you apply for their credit card you automatically get 15 additional dollars off of the price. Then if you are approved for the card and use it for the purchase you get another $25 off the purchase price. So all in all it's nearly $400 cheaper and zero waiting.

Now I know this goes against everything I was just saying about supporting the local shops. The problem I run into is that it's really hard to support them when they are not doing much to help support my financial situation. If they are going to ask that much more of a premium for the exact same bike there had better be something more in the deal like free maintenance or something for a a while, really just something other than me "feeling good" supporting a local business. If we were talking something like $25 to $50 or heck even $100 I would probably still go with the local shop because that small amount is worth supporting them and hoping they will support me down the road when I need to trade-in the bike or whatever. But this price difference is much different and I'm sorry I just could not pay that much extra for the bike.

Today's Quest

That brings us to today. I am leaving the house shortly to go quite a ways to look at a Santa Cruz mountain bike. I have always like those a lot although I have never written one. I like them truly aesthetically and I like the Santa Cruz brand. It will be interesting to see how they ride, how this Local Shop treat their customers, and what the prices and deals are like compared to the big-box store and the other local bike shop.

Before I go any further I should really mention that the local bike shop, the second of the two that I went to, were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I wish I could purchase from them but like I said for that price delta I just cannot support them and I don't feel like getting into a haggling match.

Anyway so today will be spent going to this other bike shop and see what they have and if they have something that fits my needs. If they do not I will have to kick around the decision maybe a few more hours if not one more day and decide if I want to pull the trigger on the one at the big-box store.

I know it probably sounds silly, but the look of the bike is important to me as well as the functionality. I don't want something that is some crazy weird color that I am not going to want a ride in another three years. At the same time if it's an amazing bike and feels good under me I don't want to discredit the value of the bike because of the color.

So I am off to the bike shop and time to end this entry for now. Cicely and baby are off at a meeting for an upcoming fashion show that Cicely has in a few weeks. Maybe I will add more to this entry later if I end up pulling the trigger on a bike or maybe I will just make it the topic for tomorrow's entry.

Photo: Nice deck, I should have bought it along with one other one but I don't have anywhere good to show them off so why buy, not ride and hide in a closet.