And the winner is.....

Me!! Well, I feel like I won a prize, even though I technically didn't. Every month since January, I've been setting money aside in an envelope that says, "Bike Bank" on the front. I very quickly realized that it was going to take me well into early next year to get a decent road bike. Now, when I say decent, I don't mean a $300 bike you can pick up at Target or Wal-Mart. I mean a good, racing bike, and those start at about $1200. What does $1200 get you in a road bike, you're probably asking. Well, it gets you lighter weight, more speeds, and basically, better components. and if you're planning on doing any kind of long term riding or racing, you've pretty much got to start in that category, at the very least. The category that I dreamed to be able to purchase from is the higher end, more expensive, carbon fiber bikes- which give you super light bikes(better for racing speeds, less weight to be hauling around every ride, and made for cutting through wind- among other things). But sadly, I knew that a carbon fiber was beyond my price range, with the lowest ones coming in at $1750. And since your starting price isn't your final price, I knew it would be several years down the road before I could think of owning a carbon fiber bike. So I put that out of my mind, and concentrated on what I felt like was more attainable: the $1200 bike. In reality, however, the price I would be looking at would be closer to $1500, so that was my budget. When you add in all the extras that you also have to purchase(pedals, b/c nice road bikes don't come with pedals, water bottle cages, water bottles, front and rear safety lights, bike computer, air pump for the french valve that nicer road bikes have, and the tax, well, there you have it- around $1500. Even with scrimping by changing my cell phone plan to a cheaper plan, cutting back on groceries and gas, and various other small things, I knew it would be a good while before I'd have the cash saved to make that payment in full.

But then I was asked to help out these four afternoons a week with the family that I used to nanny for. It's not much, but it's enough that I was able to start thinking about purchasing the bike this Fall. I'd been doing research on the different women's road bikes that are out there, reading reviews, and weighing the pros and cons of used vs. new. Last month I started doing test rides, but because of the dramatic difference in feel between a hybrid and a road bike, wanted to really take my time and test ride multiple different bikes from multiple makers. And now I'm going to show you God's little gift to me:

This beauty is my brand new carbon fiber, super light weight(17 pound) road bike that I just love, love, love

Carbon fiber? I thought you couldn't afford carbon fiber. You let that salesperson upsell you?

Nope, nope. You see, this is the part about this being God's gift to me. I went in to a big shop here in Charlotte for my third test ride(this was the 6th bike I had tried out). The sales guy pulled this bike down and started going on about it being Carbon fiber, and that was the last thing I heard. I immediately stopped him and said, "Sorry, I can't afford that. I told you what my price range was." Poor guy. It turns out that he wasn't trying to upsell me, but that the manufacturer had made too many of this model and was trying to get them off the show floors since the new 2014 models are arriving. The price had been dropped and dropped and dropped to where it was that day- at an astounding 30% off. So this carbon fiber bike, which had already been dropped down to $1759 was now priced at $1134. WHAT?? um, yeah, that was even below my $1200 price point. Not only that, but it rode like a dream compared to the others I had test ridden that morning and on my other test rides. And then, when you added the tax and all the other add ons, it still only came to a total of $1395, one hundred below my budgeted price! And to make it more awesome, when my credit card bill comes due this month, I will be able to pay it in full. Pretty awesome, right?? I got a bike I thought I could only dream of owning, was able to buy it five months sooner than I originally thought, and pay for it in full. And I just love riding it! I spent the rest of the day just ecstatic over God's unexpected gift to me in this fantastic upgrade of a bike. Sometimes He surprises us in ways we could never imagine or even think to ask for. =-)

Love this bike!