A Midwinter Dream: New Bikes!

After over nine months of working and saving, Richard and I bought our dream bikes! Think chunky tires, hearty (but light weight) steel frames, and massive cassettes set for climbing the steepest hills. Richard’s new companion is a Bombtrack Hook EXT named Gonzales. Mine is a hot pink Genesis Vagabond 20 who has yet to whisper their name.

It’s still pretty cold here in Jena but we braved the sub zero temperatures and did a 50km loop ride in the area. Highlights were a black turreted castle from the 1500s where we thawed our icicles—toes—with a fireside coffee; and a surprise forest road that sent us home mud splattered from helmet to pedals. Safe to say the bikes absolutely hold up on more gnarly terrain.

Now we keep working, saving, and dreaming up for our European summer bike adventures. Northern Italy? Austria? Norway? Finland? Let’s see where the wind takes us.Read more