So I have been tirelessly researching bicycles for the last two weeks. I didn't realize that I knew so little. The bike I was riding before was so old and obsolete that there isn't anything equivalent to it in these modern times. So I have had to relearn bicycles.
I have been consumed by my quest for a new bike. I have been reading and reading and reading about cranks, cantilevers, cranksets, cassettes, and carbon fiber. I have been to three different bike shops; one of them I visited twice. I consider cost. I consider usage. I even consider which one is least likely to get stolen. I think about bicycles all the time. I dream about bicycles. I just can not figure out what to do.

But today I had a breakthrough. I discovered cyclocross and cyclocross bikes. I discovered that they are very versatile. I discovered that versatility is important to me. A cyclocross bike is like a roadbike but with a heftier frame and clearance for bigger tires so that it can ride off-road. I could put smaller tires on it and use it as a road bike. I could put racks on it and use it as a touring bike. It can do just about everything that I want a bicycle to do. Eureka!!!!
Now I can refine my search to cyclocross bikes and maybe that will get me closer to the day when I can ride again.

I was hit by a car on Saturday the 18th of October. That is why I have not been blogging any miles. I came through the accident with only a bump on my knee and a red mark on my shoulder. My bike however, is out of commission. The frame is bent. The rear wheel is bent. And the crank is bent. I don't know how my leg is not broken.
I was riding south on Associated. There was a driveway going into a shopping center and there was a car coming out. I was watching the car to make sure that it stopped, which it did, so I was riding past when I noticed the front end of a GMC truck on my left. My first thought was "wow, he's cutting this close," thinking that he was going to turn in right behind me. My next thought was "why is he not slowing down." Then, just as I was about to yell at him, he hit me. From the time I saw him to the time he hit me was probably 1.5 seconds.
Then I went topsy-turvy and found myself lying on my back on the ground with my bike 5 feet away. I got up slowly and got my bike out of the road. Some people stopped and called the police. I did not need to go to the hospital but I did file a full police report. Then I walked home with my rear wheel rubbing on the frame.
I'm now looking to buy a new bike. Then I can start putting on the miles again.