getting back into biking

over the past few weeks i haven’t looked forward to a single bike ride. i attribute this lack of excitement to three particular things & the good thing is that i know i can overcome them all.

1: i rode a few weeks ago when it was 36-degrees out & basically froze my ass off! a few weeks prior i had a similar experience on the bike so i headed to bicycle sport shop & jack & adam’s to pick up some full length riding gloves, a head warmer, & long tights. these three things worked very well, however, i forgot about my feet. if you didn’t know, bicycling shoes have open air vents on the top & bottom of them so that cold air stings your feet all over. when i got back to my car after that 45+ mile ride i was utterly miserable.

2: i’m riding an older (’01) QR tri bike i bought off of craigslist about 9 months ago with the intention of using this as a training bike only prior to spending the big bucks on a tri bike for coeur d’ alene. near end of last year i went tri bike shopping & more importantly tri bike fitting. not knowing how a tri bike should feel/fit prior to this i was shocked to find out that the QR that i’m on right now is two sizes to big & the aero bars are about 4-inches longer than they should be. i’ve take a few new tri bikes on some test rides & now knowing how a tri bike should feel/fit i’m miserable when i get back on the roo.

3: there is just a lot of prep time involved in biking. pull the bike off the wall mount, load it on/in the car, air up the tires before you ride, make sure you got your tools, (extra tubes, air gun, hex tool, etc.) make sure you got your helmet, gloves, the right shoes (i’ve got one pair of biking shoes for my tri bike & another for the road bike), sunglasses, water bottles filled with some combination of nuun, accelerade, or perpetuem , nutrition (hammer gels, cliff bars, builder bars, etc.), phone, ID, & some cash in a zip-lock bag, (in-case it rains) & finally the biking clothes (bib & tights) & when it’s cold add arm warmers, long tights, full-length gloves, head warmer, wind breaker, & finally booties – which i still need to buy.

so how to get rid of these biking blues?

1: the weather is getting better in austin. i was out in it yesterday & minus the wind it was awesome!

2: i’ve narrowed it down to 3 bikes & if J&A’s would have had one in some months ago i could have already made my choice (it isn’t J&A’s fault – the bike manufacturers don’t normally release their bikes until the new year & due to the cold weather this time of year you can’t bike in most states so rushing the bikes to the store isn’t a norm). the 3 bikes i’ve narrowed it down to are & in order the felt b12, the cervelo p2c, & the kuota k-factor. i’ve ridden every bike except the b12 & lucky for me J&A’s just got one in & i’m set to pick it up this friday & i’ll take it on my long ride saturday morning.

3. i’ve just got to prepare better. make water bottles the night before, now that i’ve got the 4runner throwing the bike on the bike rack is easier because i don’t have to take off any wheels, keep all my gear in what i’ll call a tri tub that i can just carry from the house to the truck, lay clothes out & pack nutrition up the night before too.

i think just being on a bike that fits & feels good & is much lighter & faster than my current tri bike will make a significant difference & will be enough to really get me excited about getting out on the bike.