Casting Call

Okay, firstly, if you're the doofus who was accusing me of selling out to Walmart because I went to Bentonville and spoke at the Arkansas Bike Summit, I really hope you read my reply to your comment because I mean come on now.

Though if you're trying to channel Rik from "The Young Ones" you're doing a great job:


Secondly, now that I'm back from Bentonville I find myself under great pressure, as I must audition all of my bicycles in order to determine which one gets to come on vacation with me.  Now, I know what you're thinking:

"Vacation?  Please.  You're whole life is a vacation!" 

And of course you're right, it is.  However, my wife's whole life isn't a vacation, and if you insist on accuracy then let's say it's her vacation and I get to tag along.  Be that as it may, the fact remains that deciding which of my many bicycles to bring is HARD WORK, and to that end today I auditioned the Jones Plus LWB Complete:


My ride was a leisurely jaunt up the Old Croton Aqueduct, then a quick turn through some quasi-secret suburban singletrack before heading back home.  I do continue to stand by my horse/wild boar comparison between this and the SWB, and I ask you to note that I made this comparison well before feral hog memes were cool.  I'm also prepared to say that overall I do prefer the LWB to the SWB, in part because I like the way it feels on the road, and in part because it offers better pedal clearance on the trail.  But the question remains:

Do I take it on vacation with me?

Pros:

I can go anywhere on itI can ride it in a t-shirt and jorts instead of putting on a bunch of Lycra, which means I can pack lighterIt's more comfy if I need to run the odd errandIt's new and new bikes are fun!
Cons:

What if it rains a lot, I'm relegated to the road the whole time, and I wish I had a road bike with me?That's kind of it, reallySo yeah, maybe it's not such a hard decision after all:

Then again, I could see myself pining for my new-to-me "forever" bike:


The ride is as smooth as a chamois slathered in lard.

Clearly I have a lot to think about.