Black Beauty

 
A Specialized 2006 Crossroads. I've already modified it with a Cateye speed sensor, a Specialized Mini Airforce II pump, and a Blackburn trail rack. The water bottle is also new, a magenta Polar Bottle.
A girl has to put her toys somewhere.

I've been having a lot of trouble with my Schwinn mountain bike as of late. A lot of blow tires, one after another after another. I named her Ino, after the Naruto character. She was a cheap bike, but did not wear well when I started to bike seriously. My building manager also did not like me trucking up three flights of stairs, forcing me to store her outdoors. Her steel frame rusted very quickly in the rains of a Minnesota spring.

Machinery of the beast

My last two rides, the tire has blown. The first required a 30 minute walk back home, the second was an 1 hour and 20 minutes. I decided then that I've had enough.

When I went to have the tire fixed (thankfully at no charge), I asked it they had any bikes that would suit my needs. I was looking for a Specialized 26" Women's Hybrid bike. The large bike chain in my state had one like that on sale for $320, but it didn't seem to interest me. The place I usually go to have my tire fixed is a small independent store near my apartment, and I would be more than glad to give them the money if they could offer me something like that.

Ye Gods, there are a lot of gears on this thing...24 in all.

Not only did they find something that matched my criteria, but did it $40 cheaper! I shopped around for some accessories, and handed them my credit card. I was only able to take her out on a short ride today. Universe; she's fast! I spent the rest of the evening adding all the accessories that were still on my old bike. She doesn't even have a name yet. ^^;

I took several pictures of her and posted them on my blog, but this was the only one that struck me artistically.