I took my second ride on my new bike, feeling mostly recovered from my 2 day no sleep trip to AZ. It is supposed to rain almost all weekend and we had to cancel our TE ride for Sunday . I did a 15.5 mile loop around to Hanscom AFB and back through the Minuteman National Park. It's a loop that's flatter than most of my local rides, just one hill in addition to my street. I don't do this ride very often, since it's somewhat stop and go traffic on part of it at rush hour.
The new bike feels good and lighter than my old frame, even though it is actually a couple of pounds heavier. I think it's just that it fits me. I noticed that I am going up the little rollers and false flats faster. The shorter bars still feel weird when I am turning, but I guess I just have to get used to them. But, I am so happy that I can reach the brakes. Now I just need to work on descending in the drops. Last Sunday I went down a few small hills in the drops, but I just feel unstable enough to chicken out of using them on big hills. I really developed some bad habits and after 8 years, they are hard to break!