Obsession

I had a serious realization yesterday that bicycles are rapidly becoming a bit of an obsession for me. The trigger for this was my receiving tons of bike related odds and ends from a friend who is moving out of town.

I knew that these parts would be waiting for me as I arrived home from work, and upon entering my house, a sense of ecstasy took hold. I began opening bags and spreading out the contents all over our living room to look for goodies. Among the treats I found were a Kevlar rope spoke replacement kit (useful for touring), a few nice tires (similar to these), nice medium size panniers (which basically makes me good to go for longer tours!), and aerobars for my friend's fast little bike.The entire time, I felt like a spoiled child on Chrismas. I'd say I felt an overwhelming sense of giddiness.

The other thing that clued me in to a brewing obsession is the desire for a 3rd bike. As I've mentioned I have 2 currently: a gorgeous touring bike for longer trips and not around the City of Binghamton (its just too attractive to thieves and the roads are just loaded with potholes), and a heavy commuter for day to day riding. I've been thinking I'd like an inexpensive road bike for fair weather commuting.

I'm not one who values material possessions much, and thus its been a while since physical things (as opposed to experiences) have gotten me pumped up to this extent. In fact the last time this particular variety of joy (I've had many bike and lesser bike related feelings of joy) took hold was with the purchase of my touring bike. I set it up in my bedroom so I could look at it from bed, and couldn't sleep from the thoughts of fun times to be had with it.





At what point does a hobby into an obsession? Discuss!