some time away part 2
so i got my new bike. i should be ecstatic, right? well, i was...until i rode it. i stopped by the shop on saturday and watched while tony finshed her up. after a phat bar burger and 3 hours, she was finally done. what a sight she was! HOT was more like it. (pics are coming, i promise!) i took her for a spin around the shop and couldn't believe it was actually mine! with it being saturday, i had officially been off the bike for 2 weeks. i had planned to ride with elizabeth so it would be an easy inagural ride. we decided to meet up at maybury. we did one casual lap and decided to drink beer instead of do a second lap. that was completely okay with me. the bike felt pretty comfortable with maybe a few minor tweaks in store.
elizabeth is a very cool chick to hang out with. we headed up to the deadwood to sit on their patio since it was a very mid-summer-like evening. after a jolly pumpkin in the lot at maybury and 3 pints of oberon, we called it a night.
when we finished up our lap at maybury, i was talking to this guy who was asking some questions about the niner. he is having a custom ti 29er being built up by quiring. cool. he's an expert level racer and i told him i'd be riding pontiac on sunday. he wanted to join me (for some odd reason).
the high on sunday was supposed to be in the low 90's...ridiculous for may. i got up around 10 and checked the weather. the heat index was already up to 88 degrees. i knew i'd be in for a scorcher as we were meeting up at 1:00. as we headed out on the trail, i felt pretty decent but nervous (for some odd reason). maybe it's because i hate holding up faster riders. so i went all out and rode as fast as i could. the chain kept jumping from the middle to small chainrings when i pedalled over bumpy sections. that was VERY annoying. i could just feel the waves of heat hit me in the face...much like when the heat hits you when you open a hot oven. by the time we climbed up the long hill after the bowl switchbacks, i was toast. burnt toast was more like it. i really had to stop. i couldn't believe how hard of a time i was having. on top of that, my seatpost was slipping too. which at this point was about 2 inches lower than normal. being too lazy to adjust it, i rode on. i kept getting slower and slower. at one point the guy asked, 'are you sure the 29er isn't slowing you down?'. grrrr. that's the last thing i wanted to hear. you're supposed to have the ride of your life on your first real ride on a new bike. nope, that was one of the worst rides i've had this year. i finally get back to the lot ready to pass out. i ask if he had anything that was cold. i needed something cold ASAP. at this point, i had stopped sweating and felt like i was getting the chills. not good. luckily, he had an ice cold bottle of water in his jeep. i sucked that down and a few minutes later started sweating profusely again. a good sign. by the time i got back to the lot my seatpost had dropped 3 full inches! it was like i was riding a choppered out bike. that may have been one reason why i had no power on the climbs. another could have been the fact that i was in the hospital hooked up to IVs 5 days prior. so for right now, i'm not blaming it on the bike. i'm just a bit out of shape from not riding for 2 weeks and being sick and all. sure, it may be a bit slower on the climbs but it sure makes up for it on the downhills and the rough sections.
there was no way i was going to do another lap in that heat. in the parking lot under the sun, it was 105 degrees! yikes! instead, i headed over to tom's bbq. more on that in part 3.
elizabeth is a very cool chick to hang out with. we headed up to the deadwood to sit on their patio since it was a very mid-summer-like evening. after a jolly pumpkin in the lot at maybury and 3 pints of oberon, we called it a night.
when we finished up our lap at maybury, i was talking to this guy who was asking some questions about the niner. he is having a custom ti 29er being built up by quiring. cool. he's an expert level racer and i told him i'd be riding pontiac on sunday. he wanted to join me (for some odd reason).
the high on sunday was supposed to be in the low 90's...ridiculous for may. i got up around 10 and checked the weather. the heat index was already up to 88 degrees. i knew i'd be in for a scorcher as we were meeting up at 1:00. as we headed out on the trail, i felt pretty decent but nervous (for some odd reason). maybe it's because i hate holding up faster riders. so i went all out and rode as fast as i could. the chain kept jumping from the middle to small chainrings when i pedalled over bumpy sections. that was VERY annoying. i could just feel the waves of heat hit me in the face...much like when the heat hits you when you open a hot oven. by the time we climbed up the long hill after the bowl switchbacks, i was toast. burnt toast was more like it. i really had to stop. i couldn't believe how hard of a time i was having. on top of that, my seatpost was slipping too. which at this point was about 2 inches lower than normal. being too lazy to adjust it, i rode on. i kept getting slower and slower. at one point the guy asked, 'are you sure the 29er isn't slowing you down?'. grrrr. that's the last thing i wanted to hear. you're supposed to have the ride of your life on your first real ride on a new bike. nope, that was one of the worst rides i've had this year. i finally get back to the lot ready to pass out. i ask if he had anything that was cold. i needed something cold ASAP. at this point, i had stopped sweating and felt like i was getting the chills. not good. luckily, he had an ice cold bottle of water in his jeep. i sucked that down and a few minutes later started sweating profusely again. a good sign. by the time i got back to the lot my seatpost had dropped 3 full inches! it was like i was riding a choppered out bike. that may have been one reason why i had no power on the climbs. another could have been the fact that i was in the hospital hooked up to IVs 5 days prior. so for right now, i'm not blaming it on the bike. i'm just a bit out of shape from not riding for 2 weeks and being sick and all. sure, it may be a bit slower on the climbs but it sure makes up for it on the downhills and the rough sections.
there was no way i was going to do another lap in that heat. in the parking lot under the sun, it was 105 degrees! yikes! instead, i headed over to tom's bbq. more on that in part 3.
posted by Alden at 11:36 AM
2 Comments:
thats not so bad- i thought something tragic happened to your bike. 1st rides arent always peachy- remember the poto ride with my brand new intense? not fun. It will get better- promise!
I really enjoyed looking at your site, I found it very helpful indeed, keep up the good work.
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