Like Butter

First ride of the season yesterday. Damn I love this bike...

After a somewhat wobbly "how the hell do I ride this thing?" start of 100' or so, it was all good. This bike is everything I wanted when I upgraded to carbon. Smooth, fast, responsive, and so much more. Road feel is excellent, but it also does a nice job of soaking up mixed pavement qualities (something we seem to have even more of in SE Michigan after our run-in with the Polar Vortex).

The biggest benefit, in my mind, comes from being on a slightly larger frame. My old Giant OCR3 was a size M. This one's a M/L and slightly bigger. Having a little extra room to stretch out makes such a difference. My riding position is better and I can open up my chest a bit for better breathing.

The only down side? My ass hurt! Yup, need to work my way back into a solid butt-seat interface. I figure a few rides will take care of that though. The Fizik saddle isn't the issue. My sissified arse is.

Did about 24 miles with 3 friends. While I wasn't setting any records, I put in a solid 15.4 mph average and finished feeling strong. Given that this is my first outing since October and I really didn't put in any meaningful off-season conditioning, I feel very good about this. Plus, I was out far earlier than last year. My cycling season is off to a solid start!

-Sean-

A Good Cause - and Some Goalsetting!

Image (C) Jennifer Leigh Photography

At the encouragement of my buddy, Josh, I've signed up to ride the Mid-Michigan Komen Ride for the Cure in August. I considered it last year, but didn't for two reasons:

1. I found out about it too close to the event and wouldn't have had time to raise the minimum goal.
2. I hadn't yet ridden a single 30 mile ride. Oh, who the hell am I kidding - I hadn't even ridden a 20 mile ride.

A common strategy I've read in cycling (and other) magazines to help get in shape is to set goals. I figure that the timing of this event is perfect to motivate me to get my fat ass out there and moving. I need to drop some pounds, and convert my fatness to fitness. This will be the perfect motivator.

But this ride has an even more important component. My late friend Pam Prentice. After a long battle with breast cancer, the disease won out. Pam was an exceptional person. Words can't really describe her. And her husband Tom is also a close friend, as well as daughters Cait and Paige. This horrific disease really effected their entire family.

Please consider donating today - it's tax-deductible and you can do it securely online. Just click here to learn more. Thanks, in advance!

-Sean-