Disclaimer: I've never actually been wedding dress shopping, but I watch a lot of Say Yes to the Dress.

I have spent the last two weekends in and out of just about every bike shop in the Maryland, D.C., Virginia area. I have tried a ton of different bikes, I've researched countless others online and I have compared prices, styles and a million other factors.

And the more time I spent in bike stores, the more I realized that shopping for a bike is just like shopping for a wedding dress.


(Source, Source)

First you set your budget. Whether it's high or low, your budget determines just how fancy you can get and what things you'll have to sacrifice in terms of fit, style, etc.

You spend countless hours trying different brands and designers to see which fits best. You go from store to store talking to sales people, explaining what you're looking for and they pull out options they think would work best.

You try them all. Some you can tell right away absolutely won't work, but others you keep in the running as strong possibilities.


With each new one you try, you're hoping you'll find "the one."

You target certain stores because you know they carry a style you've seen online and you're crushed to find out they don't actually have what you're looking for in stock.



Eventually you find "the one". It fits best, looks the nicest, and is in general the most awesome. If money weren't an issue, you'd buy it immediately.


But then reality smacks you in the face when you realize it's easily $300-$500 over budget.

A small part of you dies inside as you put "the one" back on the rack and reconsider all the more budget-friendly options you've tried.

You pick one that could work. It has a good fit and you feel comfortable with it.

It's not "the one", but it will get the job done on the big day.

That's how I ended up with my new bike: the Fugi Newest 3.0.


It wasn't the Trek I really loved (and still think about), but I felt comfortable on the Fugi and most importantly, it didn't break the bank.

Just like some brides have to walk away from the dress because they can't justify spending whatever amount on something they'll only wear once, I had to walk away from that Trek.

If I fall in love with triathlons or biking in general, I will have no problem shelling out the money for a higher-end bike. But for this little triathlon trial run, I couldn't justify spending nearly $1,000 on a bike that I may only use a few times.

At the end of the day, I'm happy with my new bike and I'm anxious to get some riding time in so I start to feel more comfortable in the saddle.

Under Armour's going to release its running shoes in the beginning of 2009. I'm kind of pumped to see what they look like.

I like my homeboy (MD alumn and CEO of my fave running apparel company ever) Kevin Plank's quote in response to this:

One analyst questioned how Under Armour was going to win over customers who were loyal to other brands.

Running shoes are the second-largest category of athletic shoes, with $4 billion in sales, according to SportsOneSource.

Plank said they would target a consumer who doesn't necessarily have an allegiance to a particular brand. He also said they would target athletes who run as part of their training. He noted that running apparel is one of the company's best-performing categories and that they would promote the shoe's technology.

"Our goal is not for people to trade one shoe for another," Plank said. "We believe we have a better shoe."

Interesting, interesting.

P.S. Peeps, please check out my post below and leave me some advice on bikes. I know next to nothing and could use all the advice I can get!

Bahhhh my knee is no better. I don't think it's any worse, but it's definitely not better. So I'm not running again today. Please kill me now. (Ok not really, I'm just frustrated as all hell.) To those of you who asked, I don't think it's my shoes. I just bought new ones last month.

New plan: Rest today, rest tomorrow (which is a rest day anyway), try to run sometime this weekend, nothing strenuous just something short and easy.

----------

Ok on to other really cool info:

I want this:



But it costs this: $599.99

It's the cheapest road bike I could find at any local bike shop. It's pretty and I like it and I want it because I can't tri without a bike. And I've been thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it and I think really want to try a tri. (LOL)

So I made a little deal with myself. Because I obviously don't have the money to spend on it right now, I decided that I would buy it for myself as my reward for finally losing my college weight. (The freshman 15 stuck around after the first year and then was joined by five of its friends so that means I've got about 20 pounds I'd like to get rid of.)

I don't think I'm going to do a specific diet or anything. I'm just going to pay closer attention to what I eat and try to make sure I'm eating healthy stuff.

We'll see how it goes. I really want that bike (or a bike, that one's on sale and has been discontinued so I may have to settle for a different model).

What kind of pointers do all you experience triathletes have about picking out a bike? I'll take any advice/help you can provide.