RonH

My limit is 2 bikes (1) because of storage space and (2) I learned in 2005 when I had 3 bikes that one was always neglected.

Just got back from today's ride -- 38.7 miles. Hernando to Ft Cooper to Gulf Junction to Hernando. Slightly better but still not comfortable. The original 100mm stem seemed too long. That's probably why I swapped it in 2012, so back to the 90mm stem.
Not sure what else I can adjust so it looks like I'll be doing a test ride on Tuesday.

CAAD 10 3 or CAAD 10 5?

kjc9640

Warning!!! If you are offended by bears do not read any farther. We had a great group this morning, Roscoe, John Burke, Linda P, Jared and I left the trail head shortly after 8 headed for Panera Bread. We did our usual ride thru Mandarin then on to PB for coffee and bagels. At Panera Bread Ralph, Sandy John and Donna B and Linda D joined us for the rest of the ride. As we were crossing 46 A the Seminole Cyclist were just finishing their ride so Carl and Paul R who had ridden with them jumped on to our group and rode with us for a while. I have known Carl for a number of years and I had communicated with Paul thru face book. Paul it was a pleasure meeting and talking to you in person. On the return trip we stopped by the new DeBary train station to check things out for our Tuesday ride. The highlight oh the return trip was spotting a mother bear and her 2 cubs taking a nap about 10 feet up in a tree right next to the trail. It would have been something to see all of us scatter if that mamma had decided to climb down from the limb that she was resting on. Overall mileage was a little low but the 27 mile segment from PB to PB was 15.6 so I am pleased with that. Great weather and a great group and 3 bears today.

A three bear day and the Swamp House Grill by SloSpoke at Garmin Connect - Details

Onegun

CAAD 3 or 5? Why, the 3, of course! Looking at the specs, they appear to be essentially the same frame, just the difference between 105 and Ultegra running gear.

kjc9640

Great day for a train ride and a 62 mile bike ride. Met Bob and John L at the trail head at 7:25 then rode to Ralphs and joined up with him for a ride to the Longwood Station. Sun Rail was right on time and not very many passengers getting on. The tie downs for bike leave a lot to be desired in my opinion so I just held mine. Eric had boarded at the Sand Lake Station and Jim had gotten on in Maitland. While we were waiting Carl rolled in and joined us for the ride to DeBary. After leaving the train it was a short ride down SR 17/92 to the trail. We rode the Spring to Spring trail east to Cortland then took Dirksen to SR 415. After a short ride south on SR 415 we turned East on Lemon Bluff Road out to the river. On the way back we stopped at the Osteen Diner for some breakfast, then headed west to the DeBary Station. When we got to the station the platform was wall to wall people. Five of us decided to ride the rest of the way home figuring that with all of those people they would not let bikes on the train, which by the way was running 30 minutes late. We left Eric there figuring 1 bike had a better chance than 6. I hope he made it home. The 44 mile segment from the DeBary Station to Lemon Bluff and back to Panera Bread we averaged 15.2 mph. The temps were pushing 90 degrees by the time we got home, glad I didn't have to go any farther.

Sun Rail and a bike ride by SloSpoke at Garmin Connect - Details

RonH

Another update. Talked with Sherry at Inverness Bicycle & Fitness today. Test ride scheduled for tomorrow. She'll determine if I need a 54cm or 56cm tomorrow. Looking at the specs and comparing the numbers with my Litespeed (I still have the 2001 catalog that came with my bike) I think a 56 will work. Sherry says she's leaning toward a 54. We'll see.
Here's the bike she has in stock for me to pick from.
54cm:
2014 CAAD 8 Claris
2013 CAAD 10 SRAM (A gorgeous bike but SRAM is a deal breaker for me -- I may ride it just to check sizing/fit)

56cm:
2014 CAAD 8 Claris
2013 CAAD 10 Ultegra Di2 (oh yeah )
2014 Synapse carbon 105
2014 Synapse aluminum Ultegra with disc brakes

Fun times tomorrow.

Onegun

DON'T MISS the chance to test ride the Di2 bike! Looking forward to your thoughts on the system. Particularly check out the front shifting under power. Wonderful!

RonH

Ok. I test rode the following and picked my bike. My test rides were from the shop to Ft Cooper and back (~5 miles).
First I rode the 56cm 2014 Synapse aluminum Ultegra with disc brakes. It was nice but I wasn't impressed with the brakes and the ride was only ok.
Next I rode the 54cm 2013 CAAD 10 SRAM. The ride was awesome but the SRAM was the deal breaker.
Then I rode the 56cm 2013 CAAD 10 Ultegra w/Di2. The electric shifting was nice but I'm not ready for it yet. The ride was ok but I felt stretched out.
Got back to the shop and talked to Sherry about the rides and about ordering a 2014 54cm CAAD 10 3 or 5.
Bob (the mechanic) asked if I wanted to test ride his bike. I looked at it and asked Sherry what the price would be for an EVO whatever. She said something around $7000. I said that was way out of my budget. No surprise there. I'm a senior citizen living on a fixed income.
We looked at the available bikes online and then she asked if I'd be interested in the 54cm CAAD 10 SRAM if she swapped the SRAM for 105 from a Synapse demo bike. The SRAM is a 10 speed and the Ultegra is an 11 speed but the 105 is a 10 speed. That's why she suggested the 105. I asked the final price and waited for 2 heartbeats before I said YES!!!!
Bob started swapping the components and said I could pick up the bike tomorrow.
No pics yet. Here's the picture from cannondale.com.



So I have a "mixed-breed" (for lack of a better description) 2013 CAAD 10 4 Racing Edition that's been converted to a CAAD 10 5 Racing Edition. Of course there's no such stock bike.

I'm post the real thing tomorrow.

lookinUp

Congratulations, Ron - beautiful bike! Looking forward to seeing it. Please wave as you fly by.

RonH

If I see you I'll slow down or stop,
Seems I made a mistake. The bike is a leftover 2013 CAAD 10 2 Racing Edition. The CAAD 10 4 was just SRAM. Not sure what "Racing Edition" means. Ill ask today when I pick up the bike.

RonH

Got the bike home and swapped the computer, etc and took a picture in front of my white garage door.
They left the SRAM cranks and chainrings on the bike. It's 53/39 like my Litespeed. The 105 chainrings were 50/34.
The handlebars look like they're up a bit but it's the camera angle.



First long ride tomorrow.

kjc9640

Great ride this morning with Bob, Roscoe, Jim T, Linda D, John B, and Barry. This was Barry first ride with us and it was great having him along. he defiantly pushed our mph up and I like that. Our 21 mile segment from PB to PB we averaged 15.5 mph, thanks Barry for the pull and the push. Summer is here it is 89 degrees as I type this ride description. Garmin shows a max temp of 95 degrees and I am pretty sure in the direct sunlight and heat off of the roads it was every bit of that.

Horse Farms to Fox Spur by SloSpoke at Garmin Connect - Details

capsisking

I did a quick ride around the neighborhood to get my seat height dialed in :-)

RonH

Took the Cannondale out today. It got HOT before I finished my ride. The heat and being almost out of energy (not enough carbs ) caused the last 8 miles to be slower than the rest of the ride. Rode 38.8 very nice miles.

Yesterday's bike picture was not good so here's a better picture.

Onegun

Looks pretty sweet, Ron!

kjc9640

Good ride with Mo and John Burke. Met Ralph and Sandy and Tom and Rena at Panera Bread for coffee, then took Mo to her first ride to the Horse farms. Very strong head winds on the return trip with temps in the mid 80s.


Garmin Connect

RonH

I guess you could say I "almost" bonked on Friday. When I got home I was starving (been on a low carb diet). So after cleaning up we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and had chicken and cheese quesadillas, chips, guacamole, and Pepsi. Plenty of carbs in that meal. Ate too many carbs Sat and Sun. Today with all those carbs in my system I could ride like the wind. On one section of the bike trail I was riding 18-19 mph into a headwind. My average speed was ~1.5 mph faster than usual.
Rode 32.3 miles.

kjc9640

Great ride with a good group this morning. Roscoe, Jim T, Carl, Barry, Janelle, Linda D, and Bob and I, did the usual stop at Panera for coffee and bagels. After a short break everyone headed out International to Wayside and on to SR 46. After a short ride on SR 46 we turned south to the Wekiva Springs Campground. This was Janelle's first ride with us and was her longest ride to date. It was pleasure to have her along and she fit right in. Our 25 mile segment from PB to PB we averaged 15.4 mph even with a slow ride into Wilson's Landing.

Garmin Connect

kjc9640

Very nice social ride with Bob, Ralph, Brenda and Linda. We by passed Panera Bread this morning with hopes of beating the rain but conditions remained pretty good so we made a coffee break at Mac Donald's on H. E. Thomas. It was good to have Brenda ride with us again, we hope to see her a lot more. Humidity was pretty high and temps were in the 80s by the time we got home. and as usual the wind was in our face for the return trip

Wayside Wilson loop by SloSpoke at Garmin Connect - Details

kjc9640

Great weather for today's ride, picked up Carl, Bob and Janelle at 7:30 then met Ralph and Barry at 8:00. Our train was right on time and after we boarded they determined that the train was broke so we had to get off and wait for a replacement. After getting on the replacement it was a quick ride to the DeBary Station where we got off for the serious part of our ride. From DeBary it was a tough ride into the wind for about 18 miles. There are no serious hills on this ride but we did encounter some descent rollers that tested the legs and with the wind it became a bit of a slog. The north bound train hardly had anyone on board but that wasn't the case with the south bound ride. Each car can seat 130 to 200 people depending on the layout and we had 4 cars that were totally full to the point that some people had to get off to let us get off at the Longwood station. The trail from Blue Springs to Beresford Park is beautiful and we did pass 2 deer on the side of the trail.

Train/Bike/Train ride by SloSpoke at Garmin Connect - Details

RonH

Took the Cannondale for a nice cool, breezy ride this morning. My average speed was up even with the wind.
Rode 33 miles.

capsisking

I get beat up by the wind :-(

RonH

Since my heart got fixed I can ride harder and faster so decided to ride from the house to the Hernando trailhead. Didn't have any problems on the hill on CR484 with the 6% grade. Rode to the north end and stopped for a snack. Then rode back to Hernando and home from there for a total of 35.5 miles.

kjc9640

Very good ride today with Jim T, Bob, Ralph and Carl and Linda for a short time. Did the usual at Mandarin Estates then on to Panera for coffee. Temps are really starting to get higher now, I think we went straight to summer and by passed spring. On my home I stopped by my voting precinct and voted on the one cent sales tax increase.

Actual ride was 49.19 miles forgot to turn my Garmin on for the first 2 miles. Our average for the 33 mile segment from Panera to Panera was 15.2 mph

Horse Farms to Wingfield Reserve by SloSpoke at Garmin Connect - Details

RonH

For some reason I was tired today so rode from the house to Hernando and south on the Withlacoochee to Inverness. Stopped by Inverness Bicycle & Fitness to visit. Then rode north to Hernando and home. Managed a paltry 24.6 miles.

kjc9640

Good group today, three lovely ladies and some guys. Janelle, Becky, and Brenda added a lot of class to the group this morning. Eight of us started from the trail head and headed for Panera Bread for our morning coffee and bagels, and then headed to the horse farms the long way. All three girls really worked good this morning as each one took there turn in the rotation and kept the pace up. It's always a pleasure having them along. Our average for the 26 mile loop from Panera to Panera was 16.23 mph.

Long way to the Horse Farm and Fox Spur by SloSpoke at Garmin Connect - Details