october 15/16,2011 rides!

[goldfinch]

OK, a few tweaks are in order, but it went well. I spent 3 hours at the LBS late yesterday afternoon/early evening. Saddle-- too high and the saddle they convinced me would be great=instrument of torture. Put another saddle on and lowered the saddle. Bars: the 40 cm felt huge and the drop was not shallow enough. Knowing I was getting pissed, they whipped out a 38 cm with the same drop length as my Specialized Bar on my other bike. OK, done, my numbers on the computer looked "perfect" in terms of pedal stroke, etc. Drank some wine at the LBS and collapsed.
Took the bike out very gingerly before we left to meet our friends for a ride. I hate change and as soon as I stood over the bike, I felt really high up, although I could reach the pedals. It just felt wrong. I rode down the street to a flatter street and walked back up my driveway, quite upset. How could a custom bike feel this weird? DH compared the seat height to my Kuota and, of course, it was 3mm higher. Fixed that and off we went.
I was mostly concerned with getting used to the compact double; I have a mountain bike cassette, so I have more lower gears than my triple, but just the whole finding the "sweet spot" was amy concern. Shifting was smooth, and I felt "normal" on the descents and climbs, but I did not feel right on the flats. I always felt I was in a too easy or too hard gear. It was very windy, too which didn't help. I couldn't maintain a speed over 15-16 on the flats without feeling like my effort was too high. And, the second saddle, that's a no go, too. Now I know how some of you guys have felt trying new saddles. My azz was killing me, as well as some inner thigh chafing.
And, we did a hard ride. My maiden voyage went up Oak Hill into Harvard center, up a 20% grade over to the Fruitlands, where one of the pictures was taken, and back to the center for lunch. We rode back through Bolton , Boxborough, and finally to our friends' in Acton, total of 34 miles. I was really hurting, but overall, once the saddle gets changed (just ordered another Terry Falcon X) and I learn to utilize the gears better. DH just explain about the "half shifts" with a double, so perhaps that will be the key. Hey, I didn't drop my chain and he did!
The bikes feels smooth as butter and my confidence descending was definitely improved.

Keep the reports coming! I've been very interested in your buying experience as a small woman.

It has taken me a while to get used to the compact double. I've got the "trimming" down pretty good. But I do not always shift the front derailleur in the right spot. I do a lot more shifting of the front derailleur than I did with the triple, when I spend most of my time on the middle chain ring.

[tangentgirl]

I did the Orange County Ride for AIDS yesterday. Metric century and then some; my longest ride of the year.

This was a great ride! The people were friendly and it was very well-supported, especially given that this is only its second year running.

Highlights:
* Great roads with wonderfully large bike lanes.
* Aforementioned nice peeps on the ride.
* Pit stops every 10-15 miles.
* Rolling hills with good fast flats in between.
* A perfect day in the 60s and 70s after a miserable heat wave earlier this week.
* The Oakley headquarters pit stop - that place looks like a futuristic battlestar port. All I can say is, wow.
* An Occupy Orange County rally in front of Irvine City Hall, with at least a couple hundred people. Very unexpected.
* Ice cream!
* SAG wagons riding up and down all day.
* A route through the canyons and along the beach.
* The chance to finally ride Laguna Canyon Road. I've had my eye on that strip of asphalt for years, just haven't wanted to drive all the way out there (it's about an a hour away without traffic).
*$100k+ raised for a great cause (total, not me, of course)
* Free massages at the end

I signed up last week after a friend cajoled me into it with the you could always SAG if you needed to routine. Since my longest ride this year has only been around 40 miles, I was a little worried, especially when I saw that the route was 68 miles, instead of 62.

I made it just fine, though, no SAG, no nuthin. I *was* the last person into the second pit stop, which encouraged me to ZIP through the next couple of stops, but it all worked out. I was very excited when I realized I was only 10 miles out and, damnitt, I had that ride in the bag.

All in all, I highly recommend this ride and I'll be there next year.