All that talk of replacing the Old Man of the Mountain yesterday reminded me I still had to replace my bike.  So Jess and I cruised down to the Boston REI and picked up my Divano.  Yep, the bright red one I said I wasn’t 799 dollars impressed with.  It’s funny what a sale, and what being stuck walking to work for a week, will do to your opinion of something.

I had planned on swinging down to a local shop and picking up another 400 dollar, low end commuter.  But there were two features I really wanted that just didn’t come in that price range.  I wanted drop handlebars, and integrated shifters.  I considered a 2008 Fuji Newest 3.0, but they only had one closeout available and it was a size too small.  Plus, the Divano just seemed like a nicer bike for about the same price.

So I scrambled back to REI to grab it while the sale was still going.  The sale price came in at $678 – which I can live with.  Now if I can just figure out how to paint it a cool earthy green.

I also picked up a set of Shimano M324 SPD Pedals. If any of you are casual commuters like me, these babies are game changers. One of my favorite everyday pieces of gear. They let you snap in on one side if you are wearing your bike shoes, and the other side is flat in case you are wearing sneakers, etc. They give me the flexibility to jump on the bike and go for a casual cruise with sandals, or dig in for a weekend warrior type ride with my cleats.

Today will be my first commute with it, and I will be sure to post a full review once I feel like I’ve broken it in.