2012 Bike Log #1: A quick spin to begin

[wickedwords]

Ride Length: 4 miles
Elevation: 0 (on trainer)
Where: Inside the house
Start Time: 7:30
End Time: 8:00
How long: 30 minutes
Avg speed: 8.1 mph

I signed up for the tour de cure again this year, with the goal of doing the 50 mile loop again, hills and all. To do that, I need to start from scratch. I twisted my knee in August last year, and finally, after some PT and several months of healing, it is back to good. (Or as good as it gets.) So here's day 1 of 2012, and it can only get better from here.

Also, I am thinking of getting a new bike! One built for this 50 mile rides I like to do, and maybe some longer stuff. I want to sign up for the ride up to vancouver, so I will have done the length of washington state. I'm thinking more of a road bike, but I like the upright setup I currently have on my hybrid. I'd love sources and recs for biking equipment. Things have changed a lot since I bought my last bike.

Comments

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Hey, I am good with going on forever! I just think it's time I got a bike that's a bit lighter, and more suited to the longer rides that I like to do. Like you, I need it to handle hills and weather, so I'm not sure that a road bike is what I want. I think that the disc trucker looks great, and I will take a look at it.

[barkley.livejournal.com]

Yay biking!! You're doing it on a trainer! I might have to think about getting one. I just got an email for the first ride of the year that I want to do and it's only four months away and it's COLD out there!

We have a lot of good local bike stores around here, and I would trust most of them to pick out a good bike for me. Mostly I think you need to figure out what you want to pay and where you want to go from there.

Frames - aluminum, steel, carbon - research differences, know what you can live with, test ride some of each. (strong, light and cheap - pick two as the saying goes.) Weight is important, but up to a point. (why worry about two pounds on the bike frame when you can just lose two pounds on the rider is what I sometimes say.)


component groups - you don't need dura-ace. You don't need ultegra. 105 will be nice (tiagra is the next step down, and not as nice, but will you reallly notice the difference? Maybe, maybe not.) I do miss not having a granny gear on mine. I would love to have a third ring up front. You've got a lot of hills there (or so I am led to believe *g*) so that would be important.

And then from there on out, you just need to pick a frame that feels comfy on you, and go to the local bike shops and test ride them.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

I sing the praises of my indoor trainer (and the ability to watch TV while I ride.) I have my bike hooked up now so I can see my MPH, which isn't as great as RPMs, but much better than nothing. I am going to have to work on increasing it, but feel that I do have the time to get a bit better.

I started looking at bikes last year, but not seriously. I did think that the steel frame might be better for me, and visited some local bike shops. I am feeling much more inclined to buy, so you might be right. It might be worth making the rounds again now that I can set a more realistic budget. *g*