For the past 7 (nearly 8 years), I’ve had a few constants in my life. One of them was my bike. It’s been with me for trips up the local hill, it’s seen the ash of Mount St Helens, it’s seen the mud of western washington. Through it all, it’s been a trusty trail companion.

But time marches on, and at some point the trusted companion is just a little less than you want. There’s nothing wrong with it, I just want more out of the ride. So this year, it was time to start the search to replace my Epic. Last week, I rode a Trek HiFi from 2011. This week, it was the brand new Rumblefish. The writing was on the wall.

I knew I was buying a bike today, so I took up a friends offer of potential sale. On Friday, September 15, 2012 at 4:30 PM, I put my bike on the roof of his car and reluctantly turned away. Sure enough, it sold. I know I’ll be extremely happy with its replacement, but I can’t help but be sad to lose that brilliant blue bike that has been with me for so long.

Enjoy your next life little Epic, I’m going to miss you.

Wounded, but not beaten