Black Friday

I am notoriously anti-Black Friday. One would never catch me in a line at Kohl's at 3:30 AM. For as long as I can remember, my plans for this day have been located somewhere in the backcountry or on a bike. I have been itching to check out Hall Ranch near Lyons, so when I got the text..."Park at Oskar Blues. Friday 9:30," I was pretty stoked.

About a minute later, I got another text..."On the Superfly?"

Ha, I wish. I had been saving, shopping, and watching ebay and Craigslist for about 5 months hoping I could find one that met the price I could afford. So, just for fun, and remembering it was going to be Black Friday I jumped on the Boulder Trek Store website.

No way. 35% off everything in the store except for 2011 bikes? 8AM-12PM only? Really? One Large Frame Superfly left in inventory. At this price?

I was going to be passing directly by the store en route to the trailhead. I sat back on the couch and smiled. Yep, I was going to go shopping on Black Friday for the first time in my life.

So, like a 6 year-old on Christmas Eve, I tossed and turned with anticipation most of the night. I am too embarrassed to say exactly what time I pulled in the parking lot in Boulder, but this picture may give a reliable hint:

My limited experience with the Black Friday crowds assumed there would be a line outside the store. One bike left. At this price, I wanted to be the first in line....And, well....yah, I definitely was;

Crickets....not a single person in the parking lot. Wow, I truly am a huge dork. But I was on a mission and couldn't wait to get on the trails on a new Superfly. Three hours and a cup of the best Toasted Marshmallow hot chocolate ever from the coffee shop next door, I walked in the door.

After some set up and adjustments, I floated out the front door with my new ride about 30 minutes later:

I was soon driving to the trailhead with a bike I had been dreaming about for months. The ride was phenomenal as we covered about 25 miles on a brisk, sunny, gorgeous November morning. When I went to reach for my camera, I realized that, in my excitement, I didn't put it in my pack. So, no pictures to post of a truly beautiful place.

This bike is ridiculously fast. I am used to a completely different style of mountain bike, so I was a little apprehensive on the rocky downhill at first, but after about 30 minutes, I was getting used to the feel of the shocks and the much quicker and highly responsive EVERYTHING. It is a full 10 lbs lighter than my old bike and climbing took (seriously) half the effort of my old bike.

I am still in shock...99% that I actually have this bike sitting in my living room right now and that I am going to climb Bergen Peak in about 2 hours, and 1% that I went shopping on Black Friday.