BarGolf.net

Wow, seems like I haven’t posted anything since Mid-January. Nothing much has changed, a ton of work from the office has meant I’ve not had any motivation / energy to get out a do anything. So I’m pretty much doing the same old every week. In addition a couple of my long runs have been spoiled by a recurrence of my knee problems which isn’t good for moral. On the positive side though my swimming is improving as I’ve been putting in 1 mile swims on Friday evenings (in the pool).

In an (expensive) attempt to give my motivation a kick I took the plunge and bought a ‘proper’ road bike. After weighing up the options (see earlier post), I did what everybody does and bought something more expensive. In the end I opted for the Focus Cayo Ultegra 2009. Same full carbon frame and forks as the 105, but with an upgrade to the Ultegra group-set. 220-Triathlon had given in a 10 out of 10 in the ‘mid-range’ price bracket – so I’m hoping it’ll see me through the next few years.

I had a few scary nervous rides up and down the street trying to get the hang of riding on roads, working out how the gear changes, forgetting where the brakes are etc.

So Today I switched my Sunday long run for a ‘first ride’ and actually felt much more settled than on my short test runs. I wasn’t pushing on particularly, just getting used to it. On the open road it’s great and when I remember to pedal through the full motion I can really feel it surge on.

Currently I’m using my Shimano SPD pedals whilst I’m waiting for some Look Classics and new road shoes to turn up… for once I managed to avoid speccing up, although the dhb R1 carbon road shoes for only £80 from Wiggle were very tempting.

Anyway – ride 1 done. I’ll have to try and get out on the roads more now the evenings are lighter.