I drove down to Huffman this evening with my new Tri bike in tow. It was still pretty damn hot so I dressed in light gear and loaded up on sunscreen.
This was my first attempt taking the bike out of my limited access neighborhood to the open roads. I ended up not doing the full trail (26 miles) because it was starting to get dark (traffic was awful getting there) so I just did 15 miles. A couple of things I found out were that this bike is FAST. I mean real fast. The roads I were on are relatively flat and at one point I had the bike up to 32 mph on a long stretch and the amazing thing was that the bike still had some more to give! My old road bike would top out at 21-22 mph and that was working as hard as I possibly could. Another thing that is cool is how much more effective I feel while in the aero position. I mean you can really dig down and pedal your heart out!
Now something that is going to take some work is my steering while in the aero position. I have no problems going straight but making turns is challenging. Surely this will get easier as I ride more. Something else that is different from my road bike is the way the pressure is felt in my legs. The Tri bike distributes the force more evenly through out my quads and hips. With the road bike most of the force was in my quads. This is good and bad. Good because this will make doing the run portion much more comfortable during races. The bad is that all my conditioning has been done on the Road bike and it feels like I am starting from day one again!
Overall, I couldn't ask for a more enjoyable ride. The bike is just awesome and I cannot wait to go again!
Tomorrow is Legs & Back and my quads are probably going to be a little sore!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Man, I can't wait until I am done with this marathon nonsense so I can get a tri bike and get that feeling of speed.
ReplyDeleteI have aero bars on my Trek road bike. I always have to use the "bull horns" when turning.
I really enjoyed your post. I am living my bike-life through you!
When I rode with aero bars, I could handle gentle curves, but like Boomer, I had to go up on the "bullhorns" to make a turn.
ReplyDeleteYou're giving too much credit to the bike, too. YOU, are in great shape and your conditioning is helping you tremendously. Those shoes/pedals make a world of difference too. Getting up to, and maintaining speeds like 30-mph is an awesome feeling! Question...how much longer till you start shaving your legs? :)
Boomer - I'll keep pedaling for you buddy! Once you get that marathon checked off the list we can send eachother pictures of bike porn to find the right one for you!
ReplyDeleteSteve -- The "bullhorns" are my friends! And living in Texas it even sounds cool to call them "bullhorns".
ReplyDeleteYeah, as for the shaving the legs thing. Lets just say I made an attempt last weekend. Got some "Nair for Men" -- didn't go so well. I have always been a hairy bastard. And now I am a hairy bastard with hairy spots on my legs! Lets just say my leg hair has been "thinned" -- been wearing a lot of jeans lately! Will never attempt again! lol
First, your Chuck Norris post above gets me laughing hysterically, now this one tops it! That's hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI have to confess I tried the same thing, but only after my legs had some shape to them. How high do you go until you look like you're wearing fur shorts? Where do you stop? And then with the itching. Yeah, I did it once. Once.