My first awe-sub-liminal road bike!

[subengine]

Hey there,

My boyfriend who has always been a hardcore mountain biker has just become a road bike convert. He recently did a 430 km trip over 3 days for CanTeen (an Australian cause that supports teens with cancer). After that he bought a new road bike.

Good news is he very generously got me one too which is why I am here! She’s a beautiful entry level bike – a SubZero1. She’s exceptionally pretty – red and white. I’ve only had her for a few days but have ventured out on my own a few times and had a lot of fun!

The lovely boyfriend is working away at the moment so I’ve been going out on my own and whilst it’s exhilarating, it sure is scary. There's on hill I went screaming down, worried my brakes weren't going to stop me at the bottom!

I live in Perth, Western Australia so I’ve been taking her up through our lovely King’s Park and along the river. I’m fairly slow and my leg muscles burn but I’m sure I will get there.

Anyway, I’ve been browsing through these forums and I’m sure they will give me oodles of inspiration and help me with any stumbling blocks (or grazes!) I have. In the last few months I’ve been building up my fitness at the gym but I have a feeling that cycling will now become a passion!

Nice to meet you all! :D

[crazycanuck]

Hello to another perth rider :D Are you NOR or SOR?

I've heard about the Sublime bikes & understand they're great entry level ones!

Have you been to the bicycle network aussie forum? There are quite a few more female perth riders there too www.bicycles.net.au

I do a hill repeat session on my own in Kings Park each week & would love another folk to join me.

I might even know your bf since we're active in the PMBC community

Have fun!
C

[hilldweller]

That red and white paint-job looks awesome in the brochure. Can you post a pic? Are SUBs popular in Aus?

Mine's an older Subzero, bought second-hand, so new to me and a different spec from the current model with the same name. It's very cool and soooo light :D.

[subengine]

Hey crazycanuck - I was so excited to see a reply from someone in Perth! How do you find riding around Perth? Thanks so much for the links – I need all the help I can get.

I live near Subi, so King’s Park is just a short but hilly ride away! I’ve been going up there the last few mornings and there is barely anyone in sight. Are you North or South? I’m still exploring the whole riding on the road thing and am not completely comfortable with it yet. I got caught up with all the bike commuters along the river the other day and I learnt some of the hand signals. At the moment I’m just pretending I know what I’m doing! Eeeek!

I would love to ride with you though sometime, but at the moment I’m not very fast. Maybe when I get better? When the boyfriend gets back I’m going to get him help show me the ropes and get a cyclecomputer set up so I can see how I’m doing. The boy doesn’t really participate in the mountainbiking events, just does his own thing. He was originally a hill’s boy. He used to compete in trials about five years ago though. He is an awesome biker, but he is happy to ride along at my pace which is awesome!

Hilldweller - She is beautiful. The red and white is a lovely combo and the red handlebar tape is a nice touch. And I’m lucky she is light because I have to lug her about to the third story of my apartment block every time I go for a ride! What kind of bike do you have? To be honest I’m not sure how popular subs are here but I’ve never really noticed bikes before. On the way home from picking up the new bike I did see a lady careering along on her sub and took it as a good sign! My friend also has a sub which she loves.

Here is a pic for you hilldweller? What colour is your sub?

[hilldweller]

Yep that's the colour I was thinking. VERY nice!

Mine's grey/black/white, with new blue tape :) It's a subzero pro, but an older one, not the current all-carbon model. I'm still getting used to it but I'm very happy with it. Just want to get fit enough to do it justice!

[crazycanuck]

Hey SubE..I see you visited Malaga Cycles :D Great bunch of guys there and very helpful!!!

I used to work in Subi & got to know many of the side streets on my rides which made life so much easier! I'm not fond of riding up Rokeby road etc. Have you tried riding down to Claremont & over to City beach via Perry lakes? Bold Park is good too!

Another thought I just had..CRT does group rides from Brew-Ha & training for newbies.. www.crtwa.com.au Speak to lindsay (lindz) to see when the next skill sessions start.

Just remember to keep left, watch what other cyclists aren't doing & have fun!

[subengine]

hilldweller- I also need to do the sub proud, but it's such motivation having a nice bike!

crazy canuck- I checked out the CRT sessions but unfortunately I work in subi on sat! Booo! But maybe when I get better I could go on some rides with them.

Funny thing is I was driving back from Floreat today and went past Bold park and thought it would be a nice ride. Steep hill up to the entrance though.

I'm thinking of following the river around this weekend going up through king's park then onto south perth and around the river coming back past the belltower and along mt's bay. Embarassing as it is I don't even know how to change a tire so i'm just hoping nothing goes wrong. I do have a phone-a-friend option though if necessary.

I haven't got clipless pedals though because I'm naturally clumsy but once I get the gist of riding then I will be back to Malaga Cycles for some. Jason and his team there are fabulous! They aren't close to my house but they are just so great. I think he did a great job of fitting the bike!