I've been dying to ride my De Rosa since I glued on the new tire Monday night. I took it on a brief spin around the block, but that is not the same thing as a proper ride. I had today off from work and the forecast was for a sunny day in the low 80s all week; until this morning. Off and on showers all day in the 60s. It was 95 here weds! I would not be denied. When the rain slowed to a drizzle around noon I set out on a quick ride around the Scituate Reservoir. 15 miles in it started to pour and I got soaked. My sidi shoes were making squishy, water logged sounds.
The ride was wonderful. My De Rosa is so much lighter with the tubular wheels and dt shifters, I felt like I was flying. I ended up doing 34 miles @ 17.7 mph. That's pretty fast for me. It was nice and cool so I wore a wool jersey and I'm glad I did because I was a little cold. Best part, no flats! I wasn't bold enough to go on a dirt road, but it was raining too. I was ready though with my spare tire folded up diablo scott style and stuffed in an old wool sock. (Looks a little fred flintstone, I would like to find a more elegant solution.)
This ride put me at over 4000 miles on the De Rosa since I bought it in March 2011. Best $500 I ever spent! I made sure to dry off my rusty friend after this ride.