On to the second of my three bikes, and by far the most famous of them. This is Rocinante. He’s named after Don Quixote’s horse in the book of the same name. Don Quixote was famous for slightly toddy heroism in the face of madness, and that seems appropriate for a steed that has now taken me on 4 cross country bicycle trips. The only one he didn’t go on was the very first one, where I rode my old Canondale which sadly never had a name and got ingnominiously stolen off the roof of my car in downtown San Francisco. Imagine that - that old bike made it on a three month Jack Kerouac-style journey across country only to fall victim to bike thieves the first day I was back in town.
Anyway, Rocinante - Ross for short - is an awesome bike. I bought him off eBay from some guy in Florida who had it sitting in his garage. It was a terrifying moment because I hadn’t bought much off eBay and I had no idea what was going to show up. But I had wanted a titanium bike for a long time and they were - still are - absurdly expensive so this was the only way I was going to get one. It was $700, and it showed up extremely dirty and obviously a little worse for wear, but it worked right out of the box! I was thrilled. I’ve had a ton of fun with this bike - it’s easy to work on and indestructible and still fairly light. Covered with stickers, it catches the eye, but doesn’t look appealing to bike thieves. I’ve got him tricked out now with Di2 shifters that I bought off a fellow cross-country bicyclist, and he’s basically perfect for what I need him for.
Right now he’s hanging out on my bike trainer and he’s turned into my Zwift bike; he’s comfy and sturdy and he fits the style of trainer I have. Soon he’s going with me up to Ashland to be the bike I work on for my bike school in January!
Here’s to another decade of good times, loyal steed!
