Today I went to my requisite loop today which includes Astoria Park in Astoria, Queens. There are many ways to get there and I think I take a different way every time. I use the Cyclemeter app on my phone and it does a rudimentary job of gathering ride information. Comparing the figures with my CatEye computer shows that it consistently logs shorter distances and longer times although it does have a map and an altimeter. I recently joined MapMyRide and have found a pretty nice long ride up the Hudson in Jersey. So far I have done my longest rides by going into Manhattan and doing laps in Central Park but I do most of my daily riding in the immediate neighborhood and that limits my distances. I'm training for a century in September so I'm looking to start doing some longer and longer rides.

I test-rode a bike today (a Cannondale Carbon Six 5) at a LBS that I hadn't visited before. I thought the bike felt great and the upgraded Ultegra RD was noticeably smoother over the 105s I had tried on the Tarmac Elite and the Madone 4.5 at my usual shop. It's a 52 though and despite it being my usual 'competitive fit' sizing choice, it felt a little short. The Spec and Trek are both 54 and they have felt the best to me so far. The Trek fits like a glove. The Spec feels slightly longer and I think a slight saddle adjustment would fix it but it's still quite comfy to me. The crank on the Cannondale and in general the entire groupo felt smooth as silk. It has a BB30 BB but the stock crank doesn't use it. I have been pretty set on the Spec but this kinda throws a wrench into things.

Anyhow, I went back and home and started my ride. Here are the numbers from my CatEye computer.

distance: 12.99 miles
ride time: 1:01:33
average speed: 12.8 mph

Here's a picture I took at the end of the ride before heading home.


View of Hells Gate Bridge from Astoria Park