New Toys
The corner of my dining room has all my new toys. My 'get started' tri shopping list is done. The damage was just over $1500. I was blessed with many great deals. The best deal was a Cannondale R600 CAD2 bike for $300. It was fixed up with new handle, new seat, new bottle cages, cateye, saddle bag, cleats, levers, bike tool, high compression pump etc. for a little over $300. Also got the bike stand & rack for a song. Thank you to Joshua Ngo. What a knowledgeable & generous fellow.
Also picked up the top of the line Bell Sweep R helmet, Sugoi RS Flex shorts, Pearl Izumi neon yellow top, Shimano tri cycling shoes, 'hot pink' Nike lightweight gloves, UVEX racer shades with 3 lenses......all at excellent prices. I am grateful for the divine intervention. I'll have to take a pic of my spoils and post it......soon, I hope.
Last Wednesday I went for my orientation bike ride at Lim Chu Kang. Got acquainted with the gears. My palms were starting to ache. Was biking at an average speed of 25km/hr. But did hit 33km/hr for a few seconds. I was trying to explain to Buzz I wasn't interested in speed.....but I know it's me that doesn't get it yet. After all, it is called a triathlon race....and I did buy a racer. I was learning how to drink on the bike and enthusiastically bit off the whole top of my water bottle in a furious bid to open it.
Felt like a real VIP as Buzz was telling me all this technical stuff about cadence, optimum cruising efficiency, big & small gears.....some numbers as well indicating which spoke combination....biking alongside me talking me through the shifting. Also had Joshua observing my gear changes and bike fit which led to some more tuning and tweaking for perfection.
We did 4 loops with lots of stops. The target this Wed is at least 5 loops with no stops. I am getting the hang of uncleating my cycling shoes....but do feel a tinge of desperado when I keep twisting and it doesn't click out.