On Saturday I ran a 10 mile tempo run with some of the Hellgate crew. On Sunday I took my "new" road bike out for the my very first ride (more on this below). On Monday morning I hit the pool for about an hour.I am pooped.
So, about the bike. It is a late 80's road bike made by Cannondale. It was probably a fairly high-end bike when new but by today's stadards it's... well let's just say it's pushing up on 20 years old.
It was purchased used on Craig's List Seattle by my de facto brother-in-law about a decade ago. A few years later it was retrofitted for my sister-in-law who lives in Boston. Last week it made its way to New York and to me.
This "free" bike ending up costing almost $500 to tune it up and refit it with a new seat, stem, handlebars, aerobars, water cages, computer, helmet, flat kit, etc... I do have to give mad props to the folks at Tony's Bike Shop here in Astoria. They are friendly, knowledgeable and they spent a significant amount of time working with me and the bike.
As I noted prior, I took it out on Sunday for the first ride. I put in 25 miles in about an hour and a half. This is roughly 16.5 miles per hour, probably a little faster when you factor in stopping for red lights and such. Per my Polar Heart Rate Monitor my average HR for the workout was 134 - which seems on the low side.
The real story here is the saddle. There is one additional piece of equipment that will be essential before I go out for another ride of this duration or intensity... BIKE SHORTS!!!
Good Lord! How do professional cyclists do it?!?!?!?
"On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
7 comments:
You're quite the multisport athlete! What a hilarious bike story - sounds like you have it all set up for some fun rides. Do you have some dates all set for triathlons? :)
you already look like a pro!
yes, when is your first bi-or triathlon???????????
The bike could be worse. I had a Huffy road bike in the late 80's. It sucked then.
Love the photo;) Much more enjoyable to ride outside than the stationary bike, no?
Yay, bikes!
And don't worry, the hiney will toughen up!
Josh,
Your crotch will get used to it but I do recommend bike shorts with chamois. I don't ride w/o them. BTW: Book your accommodations at Tupper Lake. Send the email to reservations@motellonglake.com to Maria. She will reply back and she will mail you your confirmation. You will then need to send her a deposit.
Janine
PS. Keep up the great training!!
bike riding not my most fav activity, hate the seats. even riding a horse is more comfy.
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