Today went out for my first ride on the new road bike. Had a bit of a dodgy start but luckily Erez was on hand with his technical skills. As we were going up the first climb I shifted to the lowest gear but the limiter was not set properly and the chain landed into the spokes and bent the derailleur hanger slightly. So straightened it and Erez clicked here and screwed there and I was left with a ridable bike as long as I didn't want the second gear. The chain would simply skip second and go straight to third or not move up if I was going in the opposite direction.
After the little climb it was a crazy bit of downhill that I just sat on the brakes. I had done about three kilometers before the descent so I was far from comfortable on a road bike let alone a brand new one. I went down slower than I climbed it on the way up. Road rash kept blipping through my mind so I kept on the side of caution. Once down we went along on some rolling roads and I really enjoyed the ride although our pace was not as high as I thought. My favourite part was the climb back up. I followed Oren to the first few corners and then just stood up and started pumping. I have to say that the feeling of just standing up like that gave me the feeling that I had been looking out for watching the cycling races that come on teli.
You see the riders sitting and then all of the sudden they explode and shoot up. Well that's what I felt like. I was holding back most of the day, firstly because I was getting used to the bike and second because we were not pushing it. After yesterday's session of pain though I was still feeling tender, I discovered that the key to a fast recovery is stretching. Whenever I don't stretch my legs always complain. So managed about three and a half hours in the saddle so this is great. My new way of measuring performance is to watch my hours on the bike instead of kilometers. These junk miles are just not the way to go for someone with a nine to five job. The photo's as you may have figured out are of the shed and not the ride. I'm slowly turning the shed into my bike area where I have already spent many hours since moving to the new house. I need to put paneling on the right wall and then build something to hang the tools on and maybe put some drawers under the table. Any suggestions would be welcome.
