First ride on the Jamis!

[Catrin]

This ride was quite the surprise! Of course it was on pavement, and I took her to my favorite park. Obviously she wouldn't win any speed contests, not with those tires, but it was an awesome ride! Even though my other bikes are, currently, geared deeper than the Jamis, it was much easier to climb hills with her. She is very much like a mountain goat Getting started was a B*t*h, and my saddle is still much too low but I've been told to leave it where it is and one of the first things we will address at the clinic is how to start up the bike - between the higher BB + rear suspension it is going to be significantly higher than my other bikes. (I think they are concerned I might fall if I play around with the height too much or that I will be too intimidated to ride it before the clinic...)

Not only was she so easy to climb with, but I burned considerably fewer calories in that 55 minute ride than I normally would - according to my HRM of course. Heart rate was lower than usual, and it was just sweet! Unsure why it was easier though, the park is rather hilly and with those big tires...

My position on this bike is not quite as upright as my other bikes, and my biceps and shoulders were just a little sore and my hands more swollen than normal. It still felt great, and these things are quite minor. I did have a pretty hard strength training session yesterday & my trainer has really been hitting my upper body - it may have been related to that as well.

Now I need to find an attractive way to name her "billy goat", or "mountain goat" hmmmm Ms. Ram