In The Beginning

My commute to work recently changed from 3 miles to just over 18. While I occasionally commuted to work on my bike previously, 3 miles of biking wasn't really worth having to take a shower once I arrived at work. At the same time my new commute is long and hilly enough that my old mountain bike just wasn't going to cut it so this past Friday I went down to Landry's in Norwood and test rode several different bikes. In the end I left the shop with a new 2007 Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 as it had the most comfortable ride, and was still blazing fast. Then again I think most any road bike would feel blazing fast compared to my mountain bike. Patrick, the store manager, was very helpful in tracking down a bike that suited my needs and let me know about Saturday rides from the store which I plan on joining to get some group ride experience.



I woke up at 6am on Saturday to drive down to the bike shop to join the group ride, and get some time in the saddle on the new bike. We went out on a 23 mile ride that due to a mix up that separated the ride into the two groups ended up taking 2 1/2 hours. The group that I was with probably sat around for a good half hour at one point waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. Still once we realized they were gone we made good time back to the shop. Overall the ride was very comfortable, with me being just slightly saddle sore at the end. I think next week I'll try and hang with the 2nd group that goes on a 30 mile route at a faster pace.


This morning I woke up around 7:30am and did a test ride of my route into work. The route is really hilly, and it took me an hour to travel the 17.2 miles. By the end of the ride I was pretty tired from pushing up the hills, and a little saddle sore since the road is also pretty bumpy in places. It was extra fun because there were two speed signs on the route that let me sprint towards them. I managed 27mph on the first, and 24mph on the second. The second was slightly uphill and into a strong headwind. The wind today is around 12mph, with gusts into the twenties.

I made a few other purchases to help round out what I felt I needed to make commuting work.

Specialized Tire Pump - My old pump only went to 100psi and my new tires go to 120psi. They also have different valves so I wanted to get a pump that would work on both my old Mtn. Bike and the new road bike. So far its worked nicely, I deflate my tires every night and get a small upper body workout every morning.

Bellow Yellow Decente Jersey - I wanted a nice bright jersey so when I get smacked by a car at least I can point out I wasn't exactly hiding.

I also bought a spare tube and the tools necessary to change a flat if I get one, and a small pouch that fits under the seat to hold them.