Just When You Thought A Carbon Fiber Bike Was Expensive

I was checking out the beautiful and amazing-sounding guitar that singer-songwriter David Wilcox was playing tonight. I was looking at it when he was on stage thinking Damn, that looks like he's playing a carbon fiber guitar! The customary blackish-greyish hatchmark pattern glimmered in the light, and who but a triathlete wouldn't recognize that pattern? The first real triathlon bike I ever bought was this Giant Cadex, the first carbon fiber frame I'd ever seen. I think this photo was probably 1989 or so. It was unpainted, and it just looked like a black checkerboard. You gotta love those Scott DH bars on the front end. The first Aero bars I'd ever seen, too. Boy was I a mover and a shaker with that setup! . The neon grip tape too. And that styrofoam Gyro helmet, and white Oakley glasses, yeehaw!

But back to tonight's concert. As it turned out, the guitar was carbon fiber after all. Custom made by Rainsong, it's a David Wilcox limited edition, with a price tag of $3,995.00, which makes a triathlon bike look downright cheap!  Still, when David plays that thing, it's priceless. I dare anyone to go to a David Wilcox concert and not come out with a smile on their face and in their heart. It's like a bicycle on a windless day on the smooth open road. It's like that runner's high that just won't leave. Like the zen you feel on a really good day in the pool when you get out and your whole body sighs in contentment. That's how his music makes me feel.

As a bonus, it was date night with the hubby, a little pre-Valentine's night out. In our 19 years together (OMG, did I just write that?) we've seen David perform many times, and it's always wonderful. In a way, David's music feels like the score to our life's journey together. So in honor of that, I'll share with you some lyrics that seem appropriate for Valentine's Day, something I'd say to any one of my friends, including you. These are from Burgundy Heart-Shaped Medallion, from the album How Did You Find Me Here?

If I had a spell of magic
I would make this enchantment for you
A burgundy heart-shaped medallion
With a window that you could look through
So that when all the mirrors are angry
With your faults and all you must do
You could peek through that heart-shaped medallion
And see you from my point of view

The Ironmom Extra Mile: More than you ever wanted to know about early aerobars!

Note To Self: You're Not 17

Daughter gets skateboard for Christmas. I take her down to skatepark and help her learn to ride. I get stupid and try to teach her to ollie. I forget I spent the last 4 months rehabilitating my hamstring. I come down from ollie to shooting pains in left hamstring. I go home cursing that I am not 17 anymore. Nor am I 27, nor even 37. Sigh. Daughter is sure cute though, no???

True Story #1: When I was a teenager, my mom (ever open-minded and pretty adventurous) decided to try and ride my skateboard near the pool in her apartment complex. She got going slightly downhill and headed for the pool. I kept yelling for her to jump off but I guess she panicked. She rode my first Tony Hawk board into the deep end of the pool. It was so funny we still laugh about it today. I am now the same age as she was when she did this.

True Story #2: I once skated with Tony Hawk when he came through town on a loosely organized skater tour. No half pipe in town so they threw together a big quarter pipe against a wall of an abandoned building. I learned a couple of tricks that I will now not ever try to replicate again. Who knows what I would injure!