Rachel gets a new bike for the GDMBR

This is the tale of a girl who loved to match a boy, and a boy who hated to match a girl. She would get giddy and do arm pumps when they both pulled the same t-shirt out of their suitcases on a trip, while his face would crumple as he let out a, “Are you kidding me?! This is the only shirt I brought! Do you have another one?” to which she would slyly shake her head no.

When their cars became rusted and old, with clutches slipping and miles creeping up close to 300K, he began to consider replacement cars. After much deliberation, he decided that the Subaru Crosstrek was the car for him. After sharing this with her, she swooped in and bought one first. Refusing to own the same car as her, he settled on a Subaru Impreza.

When they began to plan their first long bike adventure together, he made a thorough spreadsheet, comparing many different touring bicycles. After much deliberation, he decided that the Surly Disk Trucker was the best bicycle for the trip. After sharing his findings with her, she swooped in and bought one first. Refusing to ride the same bicycle as her, he settled on a Specialized Awol.

Three years later, she had come up with a new tactic to match him. She told him she wanted to upgrade her hardtail mountain bicycle for their upcoming bikepacking adventure. He made her a spreadsheet comparing all of the viable options out there, while he considered his own options. Then, she waited. Finally, he decided which bicycle he wanted: the Salsa Fargo. It was a beaut! Once the transaction was finished, it was her turn to select a trusty steed. She pretended to consider some of the hardtails, and then, BOOM, she turned around and bought her own Salsa Fargo! Finally, they would match!

Arm pumps.

Seriously, though, this is the really nice spreadsheet that Chris made for me (this is just a sampling of the first few columns…):

I originally had convinced myself that I wanted the Advocate Hayduke, which can be found pretty much nowhere. Chris finally caught the scent, though, and got ahold of Maine Bike Works in Saco. Best bike buying experience yet!! They are focused on touring, and, while they didn’t have a Hayduke in their shop, one of their customers in the area had one– in my size, to boot! She let them borrow her bicycle for the day so that I could ride it. They also had a Salsa Fargo in the store, which Jason, the store owner, thought I should give a try. I was glad that he suggested it! As soon as I started riding the Fargo, I realized that I would be much happier with the drop bars and more upright position.

After talking with Jason and Mike at MBW for a few hours about everything you can think of related to touring and bicycles and living the dream (Chris was in heaven) while enjoying the coffee and yummy waffle stroodles that they offered to us, we went home so that I could sleep on it. Many emails later (thanks Chris for asking the right questions, and Jason for answering them), we returned to Saco for me to get my very own Salsa Fargo. Jason even dedicated several hours to teaching us about truing wheels, adjusting derailleurs, what to do if your chain breaks, etc. (well, mostly me, although Chris did actually pick up some great tips and tricks!). Thanks, MBW!

My bike is purple, while Chris’ is grey, so he decided that it was OK for us to match. After all, as my dad commented, it only makes sense to ride a couple of Salsas to Mexico.

One thought on “Rachel gets a new bike for the GDMBR”

  1. I’m with Chris. I can’t let Nicky and I leave the house with matching clothes either. Arm pumps be damned, I’ll go back in and change everything I’m wearing if we are even wearing the same shade of bluejeans. 🙂

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