Do I really need a custom road bike?

My wife would tell you, "No" and for the most part, I'd agree with her. If you would have asked me a couple years ago who rides a custom bicycle, I would probably guessed a pro or roadie racer boy.

I'm not a road racer, nor pretend to be one - I'm too fat, too slow, can't climb, can't keep pace, don't know how to ride in a tight pack without someone yelling at me I'm doing something wrong, and so on.

I'd love to be thin, I'd love to be fast, I'd love to climb like a Nepalese sherpa strung out on coke, I'd love to know how to strategize in a pack, and so on. I'm 35 . . . . none of that is probably (some days I catch myself dreaming of it) going to happen anytime soon.

I could go out and ride the same stuff that I do now, probably at the same approximate speed, and do the same distances on a Crappy Tire (Canadian Tire is a hardware, sports, DIY store for you yanks reading this) $250 ten-speed special.

So why the custom ride? Simply put, I induge myself in extravagances that I don't deserve and susbscribe to my own personal cycling philosophy . . . . "Only the best for an average rider." Feel free to use that kids.