New Bike in the Fleet

For those of you who read Snakebite's blog, you will notice a certain posting whereby we did a little horse trading action. My Giant ATX 990 Norba Downhill bike (aka "Ol Yeller") is making increasingly frequent trips to the LBS. While Rich is always willing to work on it, it's getting to the point where some of the dual suspension pieces are about done for and hard to get parts for. That and the price of getting parts needed is not as appealing as upgrading.

Enter Snakebite and his Specialized Stumpjumper. Exactly what I'm looking for: Hardtail, ideal for towing my Grocery Getter or the Kid Cart or the Trail-a-Bike. Price is right. Issue: 3 kids, Christmas coming up soon, kids need clothes and occasionally I have to feed them, hence all extra money is needed. But I also need transportation.

Then it came to me...I needed transportation (bike) and Snakebite needed transportation (car) for a trip to Minneapolis coming up. My car has been in Sioux Falls since...hmmm....well...I think June. It needs new rotors and brake pads and my oldest brother (aka wonder mechanic) was willing to work on it for me. I told him not to worry because I really didn't need it any time soon, hence the reason it's still there in October.

A quick call to Mr. Bite to see if he was willing to knock a few dollars off the bike in return for a weekend "rental" was met with great interest. I then called my brother to make sure he could have it done in time and he said that wouldn't be an issue. A call back to Mr. Bite to confirm the deal and we are golden. I have my bike, he has a car for his trip. All balance in the galaxy is restored.



On a side note, if anybody is travelling between Sioux Falls and Vermillion and would like the company of a bike with them, I'm nervously anxious to receive my new toy. We are mountain biking this weekend and I'm a little depressed about having to take sqeaky Ol Yeller out with me.

Next on the agenda, I am taking suggestions on naming the new bike. The "Cars-r-Coffins" attitude sticker stays which is a bonus. I am toying with the idea of calling it the "Bite Mobile" in honor of it's original owner. All suggestions will be taken into consideration. Except maybe for The Kernel's. I already am cringing about his potential suggestion.