On Saturday I was able to get a quick ride in on the road bike. I started at home and road my usual route to campus.   I then road uptown on Richland and down Court St., up to Congress, then down to West Union.   I took West Union to Elliotsville, and then took the back way home.   I had to rest for about 15 minutes at the corner of Dairy Barn and N. Blackburn before attempting the hill up N. Blackburn.   Round trip was about 11 miles.   Finished in about an 1:15.

This was my first real road ride on the road bike.   I’ve been on several longer rides on the Bike Path, but I hadn’t yet done anything with hills.   This route really tests the legs, and I am happy to report I was able to get up all the hills, despite the fact that the road bike doesn’t have a triple chainring.   The bike needs a tuneup in a bad way.   Both wheels are pretty badly out of true, and the breaks need adjusting and squeak terribly.   I’m doing a tuneup pretty soon, as well as adding a different handlebar and brake setup.   The vintage ones are nice, but the randonneur bars hurt my arms and shoulders after a while.

The temp was in the high forties to low fifties.   I was wearing my Pearl Izumi tights, my Pearl Izumi shirt, and my jersey on top.   My feet got a little cool, but otherwise I stayed very comfortable.