Maiden Voyage

This week ended up being a long one. It was the last week of a training block, I was busy at work, and Nathan wasn't wanting to go to sleep. That's how it goes sometimes I guess.

Friday night, Cora helped me clean up the bikes in preparation for the weekend. She liked putting soap on the tires...



I did some riding at Lakeshore Park on Saturday in preparation for the relay next weekend. Apparently, my Friday preparation was lacking... I forgot to bring a mini pump or CO2 inflator (fortunately, I didn't need them) and I forgot to put a bottle cage on my mountain bike. So I ended up riding around with a bottle in my jersey pocket... not ideal for a hot, humid day.

I rode 2.5 loops on Saturday, and I'm feeling pretty well-prepared for the race. It should be a good time.

I've been so busy that I haven't posted this yet, but I bought a new 'cross bike. I ended up deciding on a Salsa Chili con Crosso. I also tested out a Bianchi Cross Concept. Each bike had it's own advantages and disadvantages, it was a hard choice to make. Regardless, either one was a step up from my current bike.

Here's the Salsa this morning before it's maiden voyage...

I set out today in search of some hilly dirt roads. This time, I rode from home and headed out toward Davisburg. Some local singlespeed guys are doing a self-supported ride next weekend called the "Spartacus 100", since they had the route posted, I thought I'd check it out... at least, the first part.

The roads they picked were pretty decent: mostly low traffic and in basically good condition. It just wasn't as hilly as I'd hoped for (at least, not on a geared bike!). My GPS and SportTracks calculated only 425ft of climbing over the 3 hours. My Auburn Hills / Lake Orion routes easily give me 600-800ft in much less time (I still want to improve those too!).

Oh well, the weather was perfect for a ride this morning, and I really liked the new bike, so I can't complain too much. I will need some time to adapt to the SRAM shifting though. There were a few times when I was trying to shift to an easier gear but didn't make the second click, and ended up in a harder gear. Not really a problem on the road, but it could be bad on the 'cross course. Still, it's just the first ride, so I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.