Road Bike Day 2

YTD – 588.81
MTD – 107.03
Tuesday – 16.51

I left the office today with hills on my mind. I headed west giving my self options depending on the results of the first climb. I knew as soon as I sat down that I was going to have some pain in the seat region. I guess the upside is that I seem to be sitting lighter on the saddle? I am quite positive that it is time to get some proper riding shorts or at least underpants. That was just the beginning, My whole body feels like it did almost three months ago when I got started riding. This riding also seems to be physically more taxing. I am repeating rides that have almost become not enough on my other bike and I feel more exhausted doing so. I am definitely going to have to do some work on the bar stem to get it up higher. I can not get into the drops for any time at all. It makes me very uncomfortable. Not to mention the breaking in period for the required neck position to view the road ahead to avoid frame rattling bumps. A work friend and I checked the seat height and leg position this afternoon and it seems to be about right. I just need to get a little less angle into the bar.

I choose to take the flat route after the initial hill. It does offer a nice, open, relatively flat area on Corydon Pike to open up and really ride. I didn’t think I could make it up the long climb to Edwardsville so I bailed and took the long ride back to the office for a respectable 16.5 for the day. I still can’t believe how much faster the bike feels. Once again in the flats I got up about 25 MPH with only moderate effort. That is very exicting. What is less exciting (for now) is fast descent. I am not comfortable enough to be careening down steep hills going much more than about 30 – and I don’t really like that. So do get my hands on the brakes I have to a least be on the brake hoods, aerodynamics improve and the bike goes fast!

As I entered the final stretch all I could think was “no way I could make 30 miles on this bike”!

All bitching aside is was a great day to be out in the breeze clearing ones head from the day so far.