Love my ride!

After my last post, where I was justifying my bike, Jessi asked me if anyone had given me a hard time about my pink bike. The answer is no - not yet, at least. But because I am just a very practical person - function over form, for sure - I feel like I have to justify choosing this particular bike exactly because it's a pretty design.

Well, I thought it was great when I test-rode it. I was comfortable in the aero position on the trainer. And today was the final test: how would it - and I - perform on a group ride?

Most of the women I rode with today are triathletes, so I figured they'd be cool with me riding a tri bike in a group (I knew I was going to avoid drafting as much as possible). But I was still nervous just to try out the new bike.

It was amazing.

My legs were sore from skiing yesterday (and possibly strength-training the day before). But on the bike, I couldn't feel any hint of soreness. I really get why this geometry is better for triathlon: my legs didn't feel like they were doing anything, really.

I started from the Mercer Island Park and Ride for two reasons: primarily because the group's meeting place is annoying to get to in a car, but very easy on a bike (bike path goes somewhere that the highway doesn't), but also it would give me a chance to iron out any weirdnesses and get comfortable for two and a half miles before meeting up with the girls to ride together.

Also, two miles in is a super-steep but very short hill going from the freeway bike lane up to the road. I wanted to know if I was going to have to walk it since I'm accustomed to a 50/34 crankset and this bike has a 53/39 - and I wanted to find this out alone, not in a group where I might be embarrassed.

My legs started whispering to me on the way up the hill, but they didn't even have time to get a full sentence out before I was up. I usually climb from in the saddle - it's rare that I stand on the bike. On this new bike, though, standing feels very stable. So I could ride that hill on a 39-tooth small ring, and if I need it, I've got standing in my bag of tricks now, too!

I was also unsure about riding in the aero position. However, I found it was actually less comfortable to ride with my hands near the brakes. I felt most relaxed in the aerodynamic position - and I kept wanting to get back there when I was out of it. (I had to ride with my hands near the brakes when the road was rough, when I knew we needed to stop soon, and when the road appeared to have frost on it.)

So we didn't pound by any means - we rode comfortably the entire way. I was a little too warm in my middle, but my toes and fingers were a little cold (not too bad though - definitely tolerable). I wore long underwear on my top and bottom, Terry fleece-lined pants, a long-sleeve running hoodie, and a pink Cannondale jacket that matches my bike, two pairs of socks, booties over my shoes, and my wind-proof gloves. I think I could have ditched the long underwear and been perfect.

About those Terry pants, though: that's such a rockin' chamois. That saddle actually felt comfortable in those pants!

I find it a little hard to shift. I'm just not used to the bar-end shifters at all, and I know that sometimes when I should have shifted down, I just mashed so I wouldn't have to. I'll need to correct that on future rides.

I also had a bit of ghost-shifting, so I'm going to take the bike in to my favorite store - Sammamish Valley Cycle, of course! - and see if they can figure out why.

Finally, I just threw a water-bottle cage from my other bike on the new one, but I need to figure out what I'm going to actually ride with. I'm thinking the setup where you have the bottles behind the saddle. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?

So I'm in love, and I think it's going to be a long-term relationship. Yay!

And I did name her: Her name is Sky. (Cue cheesy music) - because, of course, the sky is the limit! And I really do believe that. Where I came from, I'd have to!