Broke the sound barrier today

Well....it sorta felt like it anyway. :rolleyes:

With my new stem enabling me to feel balanced and be able to ride with my hands down in the drops for the first time, DH and I went on a beautiful ride through the country this afternoon. We climbed slowly for a couple of miles on gravel roads. Finally we got to paved road where it turned downhill in a spectacular descent with smooth road and great visibility (no blind curves)- perfect for getting some speed going.
I was very careful of course, and had the road all to myself, front, sides, and back. I just let 'er go and curled all the way down into the drops- s-m-o-o-t-h...the bike purred and then flew like the wind.

Well, near the end of the descent was one of those highway radar machines that tells you how fast you are going- and I was going 36 mph !!! WHOA!!!! Major milestone for me, faster than my wildest dreams (and it FELT wild all right). Not sure I'd EVER want to go faster than that- it felt more like 80mph. I'm just proud that I actually DID it, even if I never do it again. I normally am into easy going speeds. DH told me he got up to 30- and I told him my 36 and he was pretty amazed.

Yeeeee-HA!
Way to go, you speed demon, you! :)

ohhhh, Lisa, cool!

that kind of speed is exhilarating, isn't it? And terrifying at the same time!

And you said the road was smooth? I'm jealous! So much of our area has been chip-sealed this summer that there's almost no such thing as a smooth road.

I came close to that kind of speed a couple of weeks ago -- I wonder how much scary fun that run would have been if the road had been smooth????

Enjoy!

Karen in Boise

Congratulations!

I've never gone that fast (except close to it once on my recumbent). Was it amazing? I get scared around 26-27 mph...

Knotted -- when I hit 34, it was glorious, and yes, very scary, which was maybe part of the gloriousness, and so much fun that I sure didn't slow down, even though DH was hollering from far behind me that I must...

(hee hee, I used to scare the beejeebers out of him by going 17 down a hill!)

On the other hand, if there be curves on a downhill run, there's no way I'm going to let that thing over about 18mph!

I think you just gotta try it!

Karen in Boise

Yes it WAS scary! But I never would have done it if the conditions had not been so perfect. The blacktop was new and beautiful and as I said- great visibility in all directions and no blind curves.
I'm not usually like that, as a fairly new rider I tend to like safe easy speeds. But hey, the situation just sort of called for it today in celebration of being able to reach the drops on my handbars finally. Also, had sort of "earned" a good downhill after 2 miles of climbing gravel road in low gear.
The cold wind whistled through my helmet, moaning like in a haunted house. :eek:
Guess my stem is just right now. ;)
Back to familiar safe bumpily roads next ride! :)

That sounds so fun, I used to do a lot of bicycling in the Finger Lakes region, there are some pretty big hills there. I am looking forward to riding there again. I just moved back from living out in Colorado, I may try to take a ride this fall:)

Awesome Lisa! You will become addicted to speed. :)

Isn't that just the best feeling?!? The fastest I've ever gone was 30 mph on a downhill in the aerobars in the triathlon 8/20. It was toward the end of the ride when I was feeling tired, and not looking forward to the run. Seeing that speed on my computer really gave me a lift.

Glad you had such a perfect moment. :D

Awesome! Don't you just love it!! Every time I go down the big hill at the start of my rides, I try to inch up a little more. It's hard not to tap the brakes going down though...

barb

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Regina

Yeeeee-HA!
Way to go, you speed demon, you! :)

---

My sentiments exactly - go girl!

Way to go Lis!!!!!! I am so awed and jealous at the same time.

YEAH!!!!!

Petra, don't be jealous- The fun-thrill part was balanced out by the slightly scary feeling. Not actually my favorite combination in the world. Hey, I LIKE feeling safe!