Something that's striking about cycling as a hobby is the extraordinary amount of gear that I seem to "need". Defining "need" in this context is complicated, because you could argue do I really need a road bike, do I really need a basket for shopping, a fork upgrade, different pedals, new lights, etc. etc. etc. Paraphanalia rules, and I seem to forever be grabbing a bargain here, sneaking some new shiny part in from the porch here... Considering you'd never usually catch me dead inside a shopping centre, cycling somehow seems to have awakened the latent consumer in me and then some. So, I am announcing here that from 15th month onwards I will be a shopping free zone. I hereby commit to buying absolutely nothing for the next 30 days. Weirdly, that thought brings me out in some form of mild panic. What if I miss out on a special offer for the new road tyres I secretly covet? And then there's the saddle bag I've had my eye on.
Because I'm such a soft touch for a "bargain" (a marketers dream is how one friend describes me) the only way I'm going to get through this (and it's cold turkey or nothing) is by canceling all the e-mail subscriptions for the gazillion bike shops that seem to have me on their mailing list, so they can't dangle some spectacularly good offer under my greedy nose. Those mailshots have uncanny ability to catch me in a weak moment, usually after midnight, with a 30% better discount offer on something that I probably don't need at full price but can probably find an argument for at 30% (or better) off. Grrr. It's so boring! Obviously I love this sport and want to do my bit to keep all the lovely bike shop retailers in business, but the time has come to just ride and stop with the shopping! Besides, I have to save for a new bike :-)
