My first ride on my new bike...
I'm glad I paid the extra money to get a pro to build my bike. It took him less than 60 minutes, which means it would have taken me all day, and I don't know if it would have been built correctly. The other advantage was that the guy who built my bike is also an Ironman triathlete, probably in or around my age group, and he was a wealth of information.
After the bike was built, he walked me through many of the features and what to expect. I don't know where I would have gotten this knowledge elsewhere, or at least not as early into this journey. It was simple things like charging the shifters, how to shift, how the cassettes work differently than traditional ones, and even simple things like how the front water bottle works.
I still needed a proper bike fitting, but he took some dimensions from my old bike, like seat height, etc., and tried duplicating the fit as much as possible. He told me I needed to order a Garmin to Wahoo converter for my bike computer and that my new Canyon would ride much better and faster than my 2009 Cervelo P2.
It was a hectic day, and I was anxious to get my new bike ready for a ride. Before I could, I needed to put on a water bottle cage, put my extra tires, tools, and compressed air in the bike compartments, and take the pedals off my old bike and put them on my new one.
The pedals were the hardest to do. It had been so long since I used the bike that the pedals were fused, and it took a lot of strength to loosen them and get them off. It was like the thick rust had to be broken.
I got out the door a little after 3 p.m. It was not the ideal time, as traffic was getting bad, with kids being picked up from school and people driving home. I thought I'd miss the traffic and was hoping I would, as I was very nervous about riding my new bike and whether it would handle as well or better than my Cervelo.
My concerns were of just cause. The bike is definitely faster and smoother than the Cervelo, but I don't feel as stable on the steering, and with the deeper wheels, the wind was blowing me around a bit. It was a little scary at times. Especially when I took one hand off the bars. Lifting my hand and waving to other riders is not something I feel comfortable doing right now. I'll do the keep hand on the bars and wave instead.
On my Cervelo, I was very comfortable lifting my hand and waving. This bike, not yet. I also found going down hills shakey. That may just be me, as I've had that happen on all my old bikes. If I go down a hill too fast, I get speed wobbles. Obviously, I'm doing something wrong. If I pedal as I'm going downhill, it minimizes any speed wabbles.
It was my fastest ride in a long time. I averaged 27.5 kph, or 17.008 mph. Early on the ride, I passed by a couple of cyclists and was nervous they would catch me, so I just went as hard as possible. I loved the shifting. The electronic shifters are a game changer. I love them. I found myself keeping my cadence high due to the smooth electronic shifters. I'm still getting used to how the gearing works best, but I like them.
I was hoping I'd be less shaky on the Canyon compared to the Cervelo, but I'm more stable on the Cervelo, and it may just be because it is familiar. However, I'm still shaky on the Cervelo, less than the Canyon, and I need to gain more upper-body strength, perhaps confidence, or both.
The ride felt good, as I knew I was going faster and harder than on previous rides. I even got into the aero position, and I felt much more powerful. However, I still have trouble staying aero and will need to work on that on every ride. The guy who built my bike told me it's just like getting back to riding, running, and swimming: You need to start slow and then build up.
This morning, I had the urge to weigh myself and just couldn't resist. I needed to see if the weekend had derailed me. Last week, on Monday, I weighed 230.4 lbs, and I wasn't sure if I was higher, lower, or the same. Turns out I lost more weight and weighed in at 227.2 lbs. I was pleasantly surprised. That gives me an official weight loss of 12.6 lbs in just under two months.
I also had a strange feeling this morning. My legs were not sore. It was the first time that I can remember since starting this journey that my legs felt normal and not stiff. Even after my ride, which I went as hard as I could, they didn't feel bad post-training.
I went for a haircut the day before, and the guy who cut my hair asked me if I had lost some weight. It was the first time I'd been asked. It's a good sign.
Bike - 57:30 / 26.34 km / 27.5 kph avg
Weight 227.2
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