Coyote Hills

Today, I went over to a local bike shop and picked up a pair of Specilized BG-Comp gloves. Then I went over to REI and got some water bottles and some new insoles. The Sidi’s insoles might as well be made out of printer paper, because they feel horrible. The new insoles made a huge difference in terms of comfort and support.

I finally have all the essential items from a long list, so it was time to do an actual ride. I was trying to ride with some people, but that ended up taking forever as it usually does, so I just head out anyway. I ended up finding my way to Coyote Hills which was windy as always. The bike and gear felt really good, very pleased. I wore some padded shorts because the Toupe saddle is super uncomfortable otherwise. I’m a believer of padded shorts, saddle soreness wasn’t a problem at all today. I’m also a believer in gear changes, I used to think it wasn’t that vital, but now when I’ve actually used it, I realize how useful it is. In defense, when I got into the whole trendy fixed gear deal a couple years ago, it did get me into cycling regardless of practicality or “fad” appeals. My previous bicycles have been single speeds (fixed gear and a dirtjumper that mutilated my shins).

When I did longer rides on my old fixed gear bikes, I just wore casual clothing. Very squiddish in terms of cycling. Needless to say, the discomfort from the saddle was a huge problem. Now, I will not ride unless I have on my padded shorts.

The ride today was fun. The headwind was a little tough, but the tailwind really picked up my momentum. I took a break somewhere on a hill in the Coyote Hills park:

My bike taking a break:

When going over some rough bumps at speed, the bike would feel noticeably weightless. I still need to get used to the whole set up more. I’m a big noob when trying to clip into the pedals, I have to look down to see if the pedal is flipped up or not, etc. That, and I think I need to get better at cornering with this thing. A bicycle feels more awkward than leaning and turning with a motorcycle. I went into a turn a little too hot on a descent which was exciting.

Other than that, the ride wasn’t long at all. I’m going to try to gradually build up my ride intensities and distances.