Monday, May 14, 2012

200k - FAIL!

Saturday was my first long ride of the season. 131 miles! I had (have) no base to speak of and it was a long shot but I felt pretty good. I had done a 30 mile ride the week before. Not prepared by any stretch of the imagination but I am pretty good at pushing through and finishing. Well, this was not the case. ~20 miles to go and I had nothing left in the tank. Nothing!


I had a monkey on my back for most of the ride. With 90 miles behind me, I got to Middlebury for a much needed rest. I took about 45 minutes off from the ride and tried to recover. I think now that I fell short mostly because I wasn't quite fueled right during the ride. I was able to get another 20 miles or so before I hit Vergennes and call for an air strike. My wife already knew I was in trouble and had headed out to find me. That was about all it took to realize that it was time to call it.


I got picked up with my tail between my legs yet surprisingly proud of my accomplishment giving my recent health concerns. I definitely realized what I have to do to get where I want to be. June 9th is the date for the 300k. There is a 200k option which I will probably go for. I still have a positive outlook to start and complete the 400k on June 30th. Time to get to work.


Sunday, May 6, 2012

FrankenBianchi shakedown, longish ride, first in a while

Today, my wife and I joined a large group and did a covered bridge ride with the Green Mountain Bicycle Club. It was an awesome day to ride and we took advantage of it. We got in 30 miles of very punchy terrain. It was nice to be riding and putting the new set up of the San Jose to the test.


Let's start with the build. The woodchipper bars are absolutely lovely. I like the flare on them. It allows for a more natural and comfortable position of the wrists when you are in the drops. They are the narrow ones and they work perfect for a road bike. The fork is nice. It had the good feel I like of a steel fork and the rake and trail make for a very stable ride. I feel (or at least want to) an improvement over the old fork. The disc up front is a very nice added feature. It seems a bit underpowered when I first took it for a small spin. After my ride today, I feel that it has worked it self in real nice. I would prefer hydros over mechanical but that is a different time with a different bike. The dynamo hub is yet to be tested. I don't have a light yet. I am sure that it will be just fine. The only other thing that I did on the bike is put a new canti on the rear. I went with Avid Shorty Ultimate. It is a sweet brake that sets up real nice. I love the engineering that went into it. It is powerful and smooth.


Other than that, the bike is still the same bike (aside the fact that I put a King headset on it) and it is a blast to ride. I think that this bike has the potential of being so many things. I has been a platform for thoughts and I had a really nice bike in mind in the future.

I felt pretty good today on the bike. My fitness level has dropped quite a bit. I have this week coming to ride a bit before my 200k this coming weekend. Should be interesting. I look forward to the butt window. I have a bigger picture here and I need to step it up!

For the meantime, I have to focus on something real important to me: