Back in the saddle again!!!

Alrighty.... So I just (FINALLY) got my cleats in the mail today. I was so happy I was about to burst on the way back down the street from the mail box. My cleats were the last thing I needed, that was keeping me off the road.

So, without having a jersey
I had to make do, and go with
What I had available. The Cell
went in the shorts on my hip
.... sorry no picture of that.

So I got all my allen wrenches and set out about fitting my bike, and getting everything all set the way it needs to go, with the help of my oldest son and a set of mirrored closet doors lol. I must say, I must have done a pretty good job because on my first ride, I ended up only having to make minor adjustments. I raised my seat about 2mm, had to twist the handlebars forward to bring the brake hoods up a bit, and my right cleat had to be adjusted so my toe could point out about a degree or so. I still think the seat will need to be raised another 1-2mm, and I'll have to play with the cleats a bit to find the sweet spot, but all in all, I definitely found a good place to start.

As for the ride it's self... I'm not too disappointed in myself for my first ride in what is apparently 18 years (my last racing license expired in 1993 and that would have been the last year I rode) Anyway... I managed a 15.1 mile ride at an average of 13.0 miles per hour. I don't think that's all that bad considering I did a lot of coasting, looking down at my pedals to see how they were lined up, I was on and off the bike a few times to make the various adjustments, I also purposely stayed in a fairly high gear to go ahead and start getting myself accustomed to spinning the pedals again, and the beginning of the ride was just mainly getting familiar with even being on a bike at all... I haven't even been on a bike for anything in at least 15 years.

Some observations about some of the equipment...

Oh MY!!!... the bike was awesome! It felt just like I remember my old Allez Epic feeling. Everything functioned flawlessly... the brakes were perfect, it had crisp clean shifts, and everything functioned smoothly and sounded just as it should. I'm glad I went with the 25C tires. If they give any bit of added comfort it is surely welcomed for now.

I'm not sure if it's the Saddle or my butt that needs to get broken in, but I'll tell you... one or the other (or BOTH) need to do something soon. But it was no different than I remember any new saddle being. If I remember correctly, my Flite saddle back in the day didn't take long to break in.

I'm TOTALLY satisfied with my Rudy Project Slinger Helmet. It was totally comfortable, the Micro adjust dial on the back is awesome. It's so light I forgot it was there at times. And it has huge ports that allow air to pass through. One thing I realized is that with the big air ports, and a shaved head, I'll need to get one of those skull caps because otherwise the tan lines on my head will make me look like my head is a Turtleshell.

I'm glad I didn't skimp on the gloves. I decided on the Pearl Izumi Elite Gel Vent Glove. They were awesome. No complaints what-so-ever... but that's what I would expect from PI. I also went with PI  for my first (and currently only) pair of riding shorts with the Quest Bib Shorts... I may have to upgrade to the Attack Bib Shorts (next model up) if the Saddle doesn't break in soon.

And last but not least... what can I say about Sidi shoes? Other than the are the very definition of perfection in cycling shoes. I have never owned any other type of road shoe other than Sidi.. and it looks like I don't need to think about changing anything any time soon. The ONLY problem, which isn't really a problem, is I remember now why I used to always run insoles in my riding shoes, Sidi runs just slightly big, so a good insole will give me just a little bit of cushion and take up the little bit of slack so I don't have to ratchet down so much on the buckle.

Other than that... toady's ride was definitely a good one! I found a route to use that kept me pretty much 5 miles away from home at all times, just for if something went wrong on the test ride. I made sure to have the head winds in the beginning of the ride so the ride towards home was actually more enjoyable than the way out. I had the help of the wind, a slightly better adjusted bike and I was also a lot more comfortable and sure of myself by then. I'm sure there will be a few more adjustments, especially when I get around some of my old riding partners that can look at my form as I'm riding and give me a few suggestions on things I can't see. But overall I'd rate tonight's ride a solid A ride, all things considered.

See ya out there on the roads =)