Jethro's Fine Grub and Bike Hunting!

Will started getting in to cycling at the beginning of summer. It all first started out with a Canadian Tire bike. As time passed and after numerous commutes to work, he realized the mountain bike he had bought was not going to suffice. He started researching and looking in to something that would better suit his needs. He decided on something called Cyclocross. I had no idea what that was, and just let him do his own thing. This type of bike is good for the road and riding on trails. So our bike hunt begins. He first stopped at Different Bikes located on West Broadway. They had a range of bikes, but seeing that was our first stop, he wasn't ready to settle. We ended up at Cove Bikes in North Vancouver, and there he found his new ride - Jake the Snake.

 

Now that, Will's got his, we figured may be I should get a bike too. It would be a new activity we would do together. May be.. just may be.. If I liked it enough then I would commute to work too. We asked Chaz, the guy who helped us and no luck. We looked again at Different Bikes, but no luck there either. Bikes for small people are almost impossible to find. I was pretty upset and figured that I would never find something that fits so I should just live it. However, the second time we were back at Cove Bikes, we saw something that I fell in love with! 

Love, comes with a price! This was a 2011 Kona Dr. Fine. And what a fine bike it is! It's super light since it's made of all carbon fibre and the selling price was originally $3000!! It was on sale, but the new selling price was far from justifiable. So sadly.. we leave.. no bike for me. We take a look at at Bicycle Sport Pacific next door, they suggested a Cannondale, but even that was too big. Disheartened we go home.

With a bit of researching and a few phone calls around to several bike shops in the city, we saw light at the end of the tunnel. Hope was revived and we were going to dedicate this Sunday to bike hunting. With so many places we wanted to visit, what is better than an early start with a good breakfast? A friend of mine took me to Jethro's Fine Grub for breakfast a few months back, it's close to our first stop so that's where we decided to start off the day. This place was featured on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives. We expected it to be busy so we aimed to get there at 830. To our failure, we woke up late and got there half hour later than anticipated. The groups of people were already huddled in their groups outside, waiting to be called!

Not sure how long the wait was, but once we were seated, we were ready to eat. We took a gander at the menu while we waited. I thought Will was going to go with the chocolate banana stuffed french toast or something along those lines. To my surprise he was craving eggs benny. He ordered the one with salmon, it came with county hash. 

 

His salmon eggs benny was good, but definitely much smaller compared to the other items they offered on their menu. I ordered "The Cobb" it was filled with turkey, scallions, tomato, avocado and blue cheese. It was also served with a choice of of toast and country hash. I picked rye. 

 When my dish came, I was pleasantly surprised at the size of my meal. And without a doubt, I knew Will would be eye-ing my leftovers (he just finished the rest of it as I typed up this blog!). Fully satisfied we were off on bike hunt. I was determined to find a bike today!

 

First place we stopped at was Dunbar Bikes. I had called them earlier in the week and asked them about bikes suitable for my size. They told me they had a few in stock and they were right. Unfortunately, no road bikes were small enough to fit me there, but we did come across a commuter bike with an XXS frame and straight bar. 

 The DeVinci Wellington is a hybrid road bike. The one that fits wasn't set up yet. They asked us to come back in an hour or two and it would be built. I took it out for a spin. It's been awhile since riding a bike, it felt pretty quick. Much faster than the mountain bike I had at home. The gear switching takes some getting used to. I don't like to settle, so we were off to look at more bike stores. We stopped at this particular place in the west end. They must cater to ballers. Everything in that store seemed quite pricey and first off, the sales associate tried to sell me one of their pricier bikes. Hahah for a newb, I really don't need something that's all carbon fibre.. and most of all I don't need a bike that doesn't fit. Considering that I have been looking at bike frames that are 44cm or smaller, this guy told me that the 50cm bike fits "perfectly." I don't know that much about bikes, but I'm pretty sure not being about to touch the ground is NOT a safe or fitted to my needs. So it was off to the next stop we go. 

 Dizzy Cycles was the last stop. They told me when I called earlier in the week that they had several bikes available in my size. It sounded very promising and I just had a feeling this is where we will find success. My feeling was right!! I went home with my new bike!! It fits perfectly! It's a road bike, and I can touch the ground. I know most of you must be wondering why I'm so excited. This excitement stems from weeks of unsuccessful hunting. It seemed so hopeless that I thought the only thing that would fit was a custom bike! Finding this new toy made me ecstatic! I must thank Bob Clapp at the store for being so helpful. I am now a proud owner of a Specialized Dolce Elite!! He truly made our day. I'm sure he gave Will some tips too about winter riding. We are prepared for more adventures!!

Freshly geared up, we rode in to Steveston to hit up our favorite spot, The Blue Canoe. For those who know us, we're always here when the sun is shining. What better way to end the day and quench your thirst with a craftbeer on the patio?! I would have taken pictures of our favorite sesame soy drummettes and the fish and chips we had, but after the ride and the long day, we were starving so picture taking totally did not cross my mind.

Well, that's our day! Another adventure awaits tomorrow! I'm sure we'll be out on riding around and enjoying the last bit of summer before the sun leave us.

Funny bell ringer I saw