Finally, I got the last of my planned upgrades installed and am ready to begin the 2008 biking season!This is my steel frame, urban commuter tank: a Dawes "Lightning". An ironic name for such a heavy bike! But it is a comfortable ride.
The first upgrade this year was to get shifters mounted on the headset instead of the body tube. I lack the coordination to reach down to the body for shifting whilst going 20+ mph in traffic, with no shoulder and dodging potholes. It's not a fun game! I got a good deal on some used Shimano shifter from the guys at the Bike Shack.
Next up, I read some articles on the dangers of doing a lot of biking, especially for men. So I got a "man seat" by Specialized which has an ergonomic feature called Body Geometry. The idea is to protect the pipelines that supply precious blood to the boys. This is the Avatar model- their entry level racing version. I might race... someday. 
Lastly, the big upgrade- a new wheelset! A friend who rides a ton more than I recommended upgrading to Mavic Aksiums. They are light, rigid and the spokes are fewer and bladeed. These are the 2008 Aksiums which are also lighter than previous models. They should make a great entry level set. After much internet scouring, I found an awesome deal at GottaRideBikes. Unfortantely they didn't carry them in stock so I was stuck, impatiently waiting, for about two weeks. Oh well, they got here and in perfect condition. If you look closesly in the pic, you can see that the spoke flattens out into a blade just after passing the magnet. This is to reduce aerodynamic drag.
And since I'm going to zero-out my odometer, I thought I'd take a quick shot of my current read from last year. Not a bad year at all!
