The first time I was about to drop >$3k on a bicyle I really had to pause. I'm a professional musician, and none of my instruments cost >$3k! So to spend that kind of money on a hobby seemed like it could be a symptom of incredibly misguided priorities.

But then I thought about what I would be spending if golf was my hobby, or if boating was my hobby, or if autocross racing was my hobby... and then I thought about what a gym membership would cost on top of all that, or how much gas I would be using if I didn't have an alternate form of transportation that I actually enjoyed, and suddenly a >$3k bike didn't seem so extravagent.

So my next bike was >$5k and I didn't even blink.