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On Friday I bought my first road bike, a spunky Giant Avail Advanced 2. The previous Saturday L and I went to Kozy's to talk about bikes and see what they had-I wanted to go there because I saw they carried Giant bikes. I spent a few hours asking questions and learning everything and all things bike. We determined what size bike I needed as well as what type of bike based on my future race and life plans. I felt very comfortable with all the info presented otherwise I would have gone to another shop.
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Fast forward a few days because the shop had to get bikes from other stores for me to try. During the week I saw 2 people ride by on Giant bikes within a 2 minute span and wondered if it was a "sign" of which bike I would choose. My options for this round were a Cannondale Synapse 5 and the Giant. I rode laps around the parking lot on both while Vicky asked me questions and held the other bike for me.
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To be honest, I liked both equally. There wasn't a huge difference between them that was obvious for me. I felt the Giant was slightly more of an extension of me and the disc brakes sealed the deal due to the fact I would be riding some hilly courses next year and the ability to stop quickly was important to me.
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We went back into the store and the bike was prepared for me to take home. I got clipless pedals and some water bottle cages. The sales guy made more and more adjustments which made deceptively huge differences to the way the bike felt. Again I feel he was extremely intuitive and knowledgable about bikes which made me feel very comfortable going to Kozy's. I'll likely get a professional bike fit by next year to ensure everything is perfect.
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On Sunday I took my bike out for its first lakefront ride. Saturday night I practiced getting in and out of the pedals again. I was truly scared of falling or crashing.
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We zoomed south and despite it being high 40's, I felt very warm. The bike was snappy and really fun to ride.
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I stopped a few times to take photos and to practice getting on and off the bike. By the end of the ride I felt very confident in my clipless pedal abilities. At the beginning of the ride I almost flopped over because I didn't shift my weight to the leg that was unclipped. Lesson learned.
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This photo pretty much sums up the entire 16 miles I rode. I couldn't wipe the big fat cheesy grin off my face. I know I made a great decision with buying this bike and am super stoked for our 2016 adventures!
--Xaarlin