this was a fun weekend, despite the fact that i was unable to actually get in any outdoor riding (work saturday, wake sunday)

saturday, my girlfriend and i went shopping for a steel road bike for her. we checked out Affinity's new 212 prototype; a lugged steel frame that's not shipping till May. it wasn't custom, and it wasn't the top-grade steel, but it was light and responsive. it was built up with Tiagra, and she loved it. it would be her first steel road bike since she was a little kid.

sunday, i drove from NYC to NJ to pick up my new Masi Speciale. got it from a bike store who put it on ebay. the bike was new, despite being a 2008 (mostly a Giant dealer; i can see how this might sit in his inventory for a while) 105 and Ultegra mix (!!!) for $999 out the door. incidentally, i sold my old alum. hybrid the same day for 500. so, new beautiful steel road bike for $500.

http://www.me.com/ro/guidogabriele/G...12692662780001

i rode it a little, and it felt great. comes with the same tiny numbness-inducing saddle that my Felt came with, so that's got to go. i'm thrilled with how this bike rides and how it looks (classic steel look, amazing metallic maroon paint job)

as a side note, i had posted a lot of questions leading up to this, so thanks to everyone for their help.

apologies for the crappy cell phone pic; doesn't do it justice.