Man, I really like Woot. If you aren’t familiar with Woot, it’s a website that sells one item every day, usually at tremendous savings. A while back I snagged 3 2G SD memory cards for $26, shipped. Today’s Woot is a Reebok Precision Trainer XT Heart Rate Monitor for $25 once you add shipping.
Just what a compulsive list maker and spread-sheet user like me needs, more data to track!
If you want to get in on the heart rate monitoring fun, hurry. This deal is only good today (Friday).
The other day I got an ad from Pier 1 in the mail (I’m on their mailing list and don’t mind, I’ve always liked Pier 1). The first thing that struck me about the ad was that it said “spring-a-ding-ding” on the cover yet I had to shake the snow off of it after removing it from the mailbox. The next thing that grabbed my attention was page 19, the Damask Armchair.
I’m not the type to get all worked up about chairs, but when I saw that chair I said, “I love that chair! Later in the week, when I’m feeling better, I’m going to Pier 1. If it’s at all comfortable, I’m buying that chair.”
Today I went to Pier 1. It is, I did. The cat is napping in it even as I type.
I really like my new chair!
As some of you (my imaginary fan-club) may recall, I’ve been going on and on for some time now about buying a new fixed-gear bike, and was crestfallen recently when I discovered that I wasn’t going to be able to order my Bianchi Pista Concept frameset from I-pro.
Well, happy days are here again. Earlier I was perusing eBay and I found a Felt TK2 frameset, my size, with a very reasonable “Buy It Now” price, so that’s exactly what I did. The Felt was one of the bikes I was seriously considering before setting my heart on the Pista Concept. One factor in that decision was the Felt’s MSRP being about $200 more than the Bianchi’s. That reasonable “Buy it Now” price I mentioned earlier? Over a hundred dollars less than a Pista Concept!
More to follow.
So, today was the day. I gleefully gathered my various components and headed to the bike shop to have Roger order and build up my long-awaited Bianchi Pista Concept frameset. I’ve been eagerly anticipating this day for nearly a year; “Ordering a New Bike Day” is second only to “New Bike Day“. My warm happy glow was quickly quenched, though. For what ever reason, Bianchi has decided to unceremoniously drop I-Pro as a dealer.
I looked through some brochures for his other track-offerings, but my heart wasn’t in it. I really wanted that Pista Concept.
I’m really conflicted; I suppose I could buy the frameset elsewhere and have Roger assemble it, at least that way he’d get paid for the labor, and I’d know it was done right, but damnit; I really wanted to buy my new bike at the shop where I’m greeted by name when I walk in the door, not at some anonymous place 30 miles away.
Oh well, I suppose there’s always the next bike.
So, the last time I was at the bike shop I asked Roger about the 2007 Pista Concept, specifically, how soon can I get one. He rings them up and they say that they should be shipping framesets in late January, early February. This sounds good; just in time for my income tax refund.
Then we had our annual ‘employee appreciation’ brunch for work and I got my bonus, which will actually cover the cost of the frame! Time to hit eBay and look for some components!
I already have the brake, brake levers, wheels, seatpost, saddle, and another Madonna del Ghisallo medallion (this has become like a rabbit’s foot to me, both of my other bikes have one). So, I go cruising eBay for a crankset and pedals. Without even breaking a sweat, I score myself reasonably good deals on a Miche crankset and bottom bracket (see pics here and here) and a set of Speedplay X-2 pedals (see pic here).
Now all I need is a stem and some handlebars. Oh… and the frame, of course.
I can hardly wait for new bike day!
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