Guest Post by Keri - My Most Expensive Hobby

Spinning is the first thing I started doing as a routine when I began exercising.  Seven years later, I still spin every Tuesday night. After I ran my first half marathon, I knew I wanted to start training for Tri's. I felt confident with biking since with my years in spinning and the fact that I go on long bike rides with my husband on the weekends. I began taking swim lessons and this summer, my friend Tara and I competed in a few small Tri's. We placed second and third in our division: Fat tires. Tara went out and purchased a road  bike, leaving me the odd one out. I made a joke that I felt like a kid on their first day of High School with used Walmart shoes from three years ago, while everyone else had the new Nike's.

I finally broke down and bought a road bike of my own:

I found an excellent deal on a bike from Craigslist for $220. I promised my husband that I wouldn't spend a fortune on it and was so excited for what was to come. Financially, I had no idea what was in store for me. There is so much more to road biking than what I had originally thought. After I purchased the bike, I had to buy a helmet and padded shorts. My hands hurt after I rode so I had to buy gloves. As you see in the photo above, my bike didn't come with a water bottle, so I had to buy one that fit. Then there is the air pump. You have to pump your tires before every ride so I had to purchase one of course.

One morning, I went to ride and my tire was flat. Since I don't own the tool to fix the flat (or know how to if I did own it), I had to bring it to the store and pay $28 to fix it. I didn't get to ride that day. All in all, I have spent close to $200 on accessories and maintenance for my road bike and I haven't owned it for 2 months! 

Since I recently started road biking, I have to be honest and say I am very cautious when I ride. I am trying to get over the fear of being on the road with a pack. I am afraid to draft and extremely frightened to go down the bridge with such thin tires, going so fast. I have these visions of me flipping over the bridge or losing balance and going into traffic. I know as time goes on, my confidence will grow. 

With all that said, I still shop for bigger and better bikes. I love the Trek Lexa and hope to own one someday! PS - my husband now wants a bike that costs $1,000....