Several years ago I bought a Giant flat-bar road bike, a plan to accommodate a bad shoulder and still ride up to the half/metric-century distance. I wasn't in love with the bike but rode it. Rotator cuff surgery cured the shoulder problem, And the bike? Just couldn't ever love it. I made the decision to get something else. Fortunately I found a good buyer on Craigslist who gave me what bicyclebluebook.com said my bike was worth.

So now, what's next? I looked at most of the carbon endurance bikes -- Trek Domane, Specialized Roubaix, Orbea Avant, and a few others. One by one I ruled them out -- Trek (too much $$), Specialized (already owned one), and Orbea (no availability from Spain).

I kept coming back to the Canyon Endurace CF SL 7.0. But who buys a bike on the Internet? There are no test rides, no hands-on, nothing. I did poll Bike Forums readers about Canyon and got good responses. I did extensive comparisons of geometry and dimensions, finding the Endurace had no real outliers on stack, wheelbase, reach, etc. compared to other bikes.

So I threw caution to the wind and bought the thing. Canyon does have the 30 day return policy so I knew if it was the worst decision ever, I could bail out. Canyon literally shipped my bike out the same day I ordered it. Within 4 days I had the bike.

I had a problem in assembly of my own doing and opted to engage Velofix (and that's another story, a really good one).

To wrap this up, I absolutely LOVE this bike. It's fast -- lighter than my Giant and the drop bars give me aerodynamic advantage. Let's be clear -- I'm no racer and my ride speed would impress no one. I had no difficulty adjusting to it, I'm riding 1.5-2.0 mph faster, and the bike just feels comfortable.

And the Hellfire Red color really wows me. As did the $300 discount for being last year's model and Canyon's free shipping offer.

So yes, every once in a while, good luck does happen.