TriDanny47

I merely find it oddly amusing that perfect strangers on the internet think they "deserve" the right to judge what other people "deserve", and to take it a bit wider, that they feel they "deserve" to set the criteria behind "deserve".

I have expensive bikes. I'm not very fast. I will never be a "contender" in any competitive event. I just enjoy what I do (triathlons to date, and a few non-competitive club rides) for it's own sake. I'm competing against ... me! No one else. If that puts a bee in someone's shorts, well, that's their problem.

I say I "deseve" the bikes I have because ... wait for it ... it's my money, I earn it! It's called ... work! That thing you do for 40, 50, 60 hours a week of your life for 35, 40, 45 years. It also falls under the category of "return on investment." I made a big investment in my education, I skulked around university campus for 9 years of my life in total, at all hours of the day and night, agonized over projects and papers, sweated exams, went nights without sleep reading and studying. You get the picture, I'm sure most of you have been there, too.

Enjoying life in the present is my reward for all of that. I do, and buy, the things which add to my "ejoyment quotient" as I see appropriate.

Buying a bike is NOT like adopting a shelter or rescue pet. Pet adoption often involves questions about the suitable nature of the proposed home environment, the would-be adopter's financial ability to care for the pet, and even at times screening to make sure the person doesn't have a history of abuse or neglect of animals. Society has deemed that generally an appropriate value judgement.

When I approached the manager and owner of my LBS a couple of years ago about buying my first truly expensive bike, I don't recall ever having to submit to a background check, any questions about my speed or riding ability, etc. It's NOT a value judgement based transaction. It's about $$$, plain and simple. I did get appropriate questions about the type of riding, the type of bike, and so forth, but those were to steer me towards what was right for my needs, not to steer me away from the purchases as somehow "unworthy". Maybe they were laughing at me behind my back ... if so, who gives a rat's *** ... what is anyone gonna do, take away my birthday or my bike or something? Doubt it. Seemed pretty happy to ring up that sale. And they seem pretty happy to see me when I go into the shop (where I've bought 5 bikes to date).


It's all about the aspiration. I bet almost NO ONE who posts here is a professional cyclist. Using "deserve" as it's been used in this and similar threads, probably no one here "deserves" much of a bike. So the one in a thousand here who is the professional should be the only one riding a high end CF bike with a great groupset? And the rest of us??? There's always the GMC Denali. But if I were limited to riding a GMC Denali because that is "all I deserve" I doubt it would make me aspire to try to better myself, achieve better times, improve my health, etc. I know intellectually I will never be a TDF rider, not even close. But I can have a little piece of that dream for myself when I jump on my bike and pedal off. That is worth it to me.

Absolutely. There is a great butcher shop in my town, superb quality, it's always busy. I buy a lot of steaks there, filets, rib eyes, etc. I could just stop by the local Kroger or even Wal-mart and buy some round steak or even some ground beef. Just as nourishing. But not nearly as satisfying. So, it costs a little more at the butcher shop ... my $, I earn it.