New bike at home!

The big day was last week! I went into Crono and met with Craig for the final tweak and fit, and then took that baby out for a spin!

During the final fitting session, Craig took a look at every to ensure that everything was as close to perfect as could be, and we just tweaked the left foot cleat position a bit, and angled back the bullhorn bars every so slightly to give a more comfortable position when out of aero.

This session really confirmed my opinions on getting fitted in a studio setting as opposed to buying a bike online. You can't get this kind of service from a website, and this is coming from a self-professed eBay junkie. Craig also wanted to make sure that if I noticed anything in the future, to come in a we could tweak some more. They don't get you on a bike and send you out the door. These guys stick with you every step of the way.

Okay, on to the ride.

Temp was perfect, mid-60s, little to no wind, beautiful central Wisconsin sunny.

WOW! This bike is a ROCKET!!! Of course, that reaction was to be expected, but this being my first carbon bike, I was giggling like a little girl for the entire 40 mile plus ride. Even on the brutal uphills, and the few minutes that I had to deal with a headwind.

It took a bit of time to get used to riding in aero again, having been strictly on a road bike for a while. While the handling isn't as nimble as a roadie, it did suprisingly well on some sharp corners, especially the ones at the bottom of hills. Once I got used to staying in aero for longer than 2 minutes, I really got the hang of this sucker and was able to let it fly. Super-responsive and smooth, this made my normal hard-ride loop seem quite effortless. So effortless, in fact, that I spent a lot of time wondering how in the world I ever got by without this baby...

My older brother is an F-16 fighter pilot, and I now know the rush he feels... :)


Unfortunately, the outside riding days are becoming more and more limited, and I am getting the odds n ends together for my off-season training program, including an interesting one for the bike trainer...

Check back soon for more updates, as the weather gets worse, I have more time to spend on the computer sharing my thoughts...