As the owner of the most beautiful custom Lynskey Helix, it is time for me to blog away about my fantastic new bicycle. I wanted to make sure that I bonded with my new eye candy straightaway, so I proceeded to put 500 miles on this bicycle in the first 10 days I owned it. Since my good friends in the Ultra Cycling Group of the Gran Fondo and HBC clubs had two sequential Saturday 200K rides planned, it was pretty easy to break it in quickly. I guess it says a lot for my confidence in Lynskey craftsmanship, the Gran Fondo mechanics, and my husband's ability to fit someone on a bicycle that my first ride on the bike was the Watertown 200 K. Needless to say, the bike's performance was exceptional. I have to admit, it was a lot of fun on the first ride to have my fellow randonneurs checking out the shape of the tubes and marveling over the luster off my polished titanium frame.

My plan in the design was to use an emerald green Chris king headset to crown my titanium art, bringing to mind fine jewelry. Since this bike would price out in the neighborhood of a nice tennis bracelet, the jewelry theme is probably fitting. But since I'm not much on jewelry and I ride a bike everyday, for me this is the gift that keeps on giving. Expanding on the jewelry theme, choosing to polish my titanium frame offered the best of both worlds - you get the unmatched durability that only titanium can offer, but you've got the most beautiful bike on the group ride. Yes, I know that I should appreciate the Helix Technology because those twisted tubes offer maximum stiffness and power transfer, but I wanted it for the beauty and distinctiveness.

So maybe you are reading this and rolling your eyes, because this woman has the most bad ass racing frame available and she's going on about how beautiful it is. Well, at least I'm honest. I only weigh 125 pounds, I don't race, and I am not particularly an aggressive rider, so if I started trying to discuss stiffness, I would just be blowing smoke. I can speak to what I do know - comfort, lightness and stability. I can tell you exactly the difference in how you feel when you come off a bike like this after 200 K and how you would feel if you did it on a carbon frame. You feel great - you don't feel like you just got kicked about for a few hours. Being married to Mr. Gran Fondo, I've had the best carbon frames on the market, but face it - they will never give you the ride quality of titanium. My bike with pedals and cages weighs in at 16 pounds, an incredible lightness of being most appreciated on every climb of the day. It descends like an arrow, perfectly smooth and instilling confidence. And I couldn't close without mentioning, this bike is perfectly quiet. Maybe it's just my age, but I don't like a lot of large, hollow tubing echoing every sound out of the road and my drivetrain.

So above, you have it, my take on the Lynskey Helix. The bike is perfect, and I think it captures a lot of what we try to do at Gran Fondo. Lynn built this bike for me, a perfect fit in its geometry and its personality. The first time that Lynn built me a beautiful expensive bike, it sat on the floor for three weeks and I wouldn't ride it. Finally, I confessed that I did not feel worthy to ride an expensive steel frame with a Record gruppo. I loved to ride, but I did not feel that my skills were good enough. Lynn got me on the bike, with his wise words, "None of us are worthy of these bicycles -that's not what it's about." You ride a bike like this, because you are passionate about cycling. It gives you pleasure, it makes you smile, it is your hobby and a little piece of who you are - Anyone that loves bikes deserves a dream bicycle (and each person can appreciate it for their own reasons...)

Vida Greer