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Giant CRX 1 Flat-bar Road Bike - A Metaphor

I've been working my guts out doing websites all week (day and night) and now I have to mark 50+ online student usability exercises. Ugh!

I got a glimpse of my girlfriend this week. She lives really far away and - as I ride a CRX 1 Flat bar road bike - it takes me a good 2 hours to get there. Especially after riding from Como to teaching Saturday acting classes in Hammersley.

I got to her place late and then had to leave at 5am to get to Freo on time - where my parents were celebrating their 4oth wedding anniversary.

Hi Ma & Da. Congratulations!

Now for the meat of this post. Read carefully:

It's a nice ride. For every difficult hill, there's a downward slope. I top around 50kmh (peak at 60kmh) but try to cruise along at around 30kmh to conserve energy. You never know when you might need to sprint. I'm mostly on bike tracks - I don't like to ride on sand.

My bike has no shocks, so my energy isn't wasted. I get to feel the ground. Whatever power I have goes straight to the road via my hard Shimano wheels. Just bought a couple of bullbars for handling. I was getting into a physical rut. Now I can fidget as I ride. Move my hands around the bullbars so I don't stress any body parts. Now I can really ride hard, but with a bit of contrast so I don't lose perspective. Don't seize up inside.

I don't ride fast - just cruise.

On a nice, solid foundation.

You never really know when you're going to run out of energy. It's hard to tell which direction the wind will come from. You have to be on guard. Look for the signs. Gauge your ride. Be clear about your goal - and why you are riding, not driving in the first place.

Right, filmmakers?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Ok, it's been over a year, so here is a comment 4U.
I recently bought a crx1 and i was wondering what other riders thought of it. It takes me about an hour to get to work. I suppose it would take me less if i was riding to my girlfriend's place...
So what do you think of the bike. have you had it for long??. i don't have a web page or 'my space', so if you like, send me yr comment to john.molina@feltex.com
objectman said…
The CRX1 is a dream. I notice that the new version has skimped a little. The gear set is now 501 and the seat post is now a crappy pneumatic job. The good thing about the CRX I have is that I can feel the road. Every pedal goes into the ground. My energy isn't wasted on a bouncy ride. i think they are trying to widen their market (and save money). The new CRX1 rapid fire gear set is nice in metal though. but I prefer my carbon fibre seat-post. I bet the new CRX0 will just be a rejigged CRX1.

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