Amy and I just bought our Christmas presents early! We got a pair of Avanti Carbonio 1.0 road bikes, which are similar to the current Cadent series but ours are last year's model (they were on sale for a fantastic price). We also got a heap of gear to go with them, including upgraded tyres that have three layers of kevlar to ward off random shards of glass, a little wireless trip computer, a new helmet for me because my previous one was cheap and didn't fit well, a pump that can handle the higher pressures in the tyres, etc.

I've been riding my old heavy clunker used mountain bike to work for over a year now, and am up to a good solid five days a week, rain or shine (I think it's rained on me only about four times in the last few months). Riding the new bike is an absolute world of difference! It's so much lighter and smoother that it's almost a completely different experience. As long as I continue to ride my bike daily for the next decade or so, I'll get good value out of this purchase. :)

It was pretty hot today—the temperature hit 30 C before a cold front rolled in this evening—so I didn't do more than ride the bike home. I'm looking forward to taking it to work tomorrow and giving it a good shakedown.