Monday, October 20, 2008

New Bikes, Old Bikes, Flats, Wrecks, and New Parts (that dont work on steep ascents.)

With all the disappointing results of working on my older bikes i kind of gave up hope on riding them ever again and i shall be buying this Giant come spring. Now i probably don't deserve this bike because my fitness and skill are on the average side, but i shall earn it. Currently my Cannondale is for sale on Craiglist, and i'll be using that money plus some other money ito buy a track bike for winter strength training/commuting (because my strength sucks). Its a Cannondale CAAD9 with full dura-ace parts and Look Keo pedals and pursuit style handlebars. I'm going to switch out the handlebars with drop style, and throw a couple brake levers for the purpose of places to rest my hands. I'll take a picture of the bike tonight. Its a super sweet looking ride.

In other news-my old Ti frame has been relinquished all its accessories and parts...yes even the bottom bracket cup. So in other words the bike is now just a frame. I took it all apart on Saturday and then two of my coworkers got the cup out yesterday morning. I'm either going to try and sell it or just give it to one of them because he wanted it. I had already given away my old carbon fork to a coworker for his track bike...i warned him of the shattering possibilities...i mean it is old. good luck

Saturday i tried riding the track bike into work with my boss there, which he does pretty much everyday. Like i discussed before, i can hang with him but i don't know what would happen if he had gears or if i was on track bike. That day we were to find out...BUT i got a flat on mile 8 or 9. I was pissed at first but the winds were so strong that day and my legs weren't feeling too hot. Oh, and the flat wouldn't have mattered had i remembered my flat kit that i left on the couch or if Ben hadn't run out of tubes the following day. So i was left with a phone waiting for a ride.

Sunday, i got to try out my tricked out MTB. At the bike shop, we had thrown a ton of old, used XT components on it and i was excited. I also recently got my eggbeaters and new shoes, so i was no longer sporting the rat-traps and Asics. First time on the trails using all my new junk = very excited. We got to Fountainhead just after sunrise and the parking lot was already half full...weird. It was about 40 degrees so we layered up and hit the trail. As usual i took the lead and went blazing down the first run and then promptly wrecked going up the first incline. I almost shoulder checked a tree on a fun swoop that almost became a very unfun swoop. I wrecked on another up going over a giant log and lodged a rock in my palm, found my gloves 10 mins later in my jacket pocket. Later down the trail after a nice long run i made a little jump and the track went down left hard and i went straight hit a log weird and also went down left hard on my head...my helmet works well and didn't even crack. Darryl and i both wrecked in the rock garden...he wrecked only because i did. sorry. Another downhill i lost my bike underneath some how and the crank went into my leg, thankfully due to knee re-constructive surgery i have a dead spot on my shin and thats where it hit, so i didn't notice the pain, but the blood running down my leg i noticed. Darryl took a picture right after, but i look like a newbie tool, so I'll refrain from posting it. I wrecked a few more times since my *new-used* shifters would stick and change gears on me on the steep ascents and i was struggling to escape from my pedals due to my lack of experience with them. I'm really hoping this isn't a preview to the race in Richmond next month. My technical/handling skills are equal to that of a 5 year old. My upper body strength was something to be desired too, i could hardly hold the handlebars down so much of the trail because of how many stupid roots were there. It was a rough trip. But i did ride down Shock-A-Billy hill, i hadn't done that before.



2 days of bad riding and this morning it was below freezing and i dont YET have the gear to ride in such weather. So i was stuck driving in.

By the way, we are back in our house now.

1 comment:

AH said...

You could do a lot worse than a Giant TCR Advanced. I've really dug mine this year. The only thing I'd change is not getting the ISP -- that's just a pain in the ass.