Break-Away Hellos

Last Thursday, we officially said goodbye to our titanium road bikes when we dropped them off for their eBay debut. Tonight, just one week later, we have two new bikes to take their place. This wasn't the plan but you only live once. 

It wasn't a completely spontaneous purchase. Before we said goodbye to the titanium bikes, Terry said goodbye to his Cervelo. Then two things happened, he spent two weeks in California for work and the Cervelo sold. He hasn't traveled yet with his new Time Skylon but seriously considered it for the 2nd trip. As you saw on the Titanium Goodbyes blog, we tackle airplane travel at least once every year. We have the right cases, the packing dialed in, and budget for the bike fees. Yet, every trip is still a pain. There is always stress related to airport fees and security checks, ground transportation, case storage, and anxiety about bike damage. We have friends with Ritchey Break-Away bikes and they rave about the ease of traveling without sacrificing ride quality. All of this had Terry thinking about his next bike. 

When he returned from California, Terry pitched his proposal. Since the Cervelo sold, we could use the money to go toward a Break-Away. The idea was that we could share it and take it on work trips. There are a few teardown bikes on the market, but he was sold on the Ritchey Break-Away Carbon. Even though I was on medication for the back injury, it made sense. We worked with Ryan at Contender Bicycles and placed the order.

By the time we brought the new Ritchey Break-Away home, we had a 2nd one in process. As I said, it wasn't the plan, but we talked ourselves into it. We could take them to UCI Worlds, Europe, and all the other places we travel together. We could build them up exactly like our current road bikes to prevent injury. We could reduce the stress and cost related to traveling with our expensive road bikes. We needed to spend the money we'll make on the two titanium road bikes. You get the picture.

Today, I brought my Break-Away home and took it for a short spin. It was also the first road ride I've done since the back injury. I've been improving steadily on my mountain bike the last week on the paved trails. Tonight was a major milestone and it was fun to do it on a brand new bike!

We haven't tried breaking down the bikes and packing them into their little suitcases. We have a training session next week at Contender Bicycles in preparation for our trip to Worlds. I'm sure the process will be blog-worthy so stay tuned.

HERS and HIS
Ritchey Break-Away Carbon Road Bikes
HIS
Terry went with same setup as his Time Skylon
HERS
Compared to my Time Pro Team VXR - I chose a new saddle (Fizik Aliante VS), shorter cranks (172.5),
new pedals (Time) and increased stem height to help with the back injury.

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