Hey, good to hear Rowan's making progress. It'll probably seem slow but if you keep a diary it may help.

I rode 19 miles Saturday morning, first time outdoors on the road bike since I was hit by a car in early May. Felt pretty good most of the first 15 miles. Using the indoor trainer has helped maintain some fitness. Mostly a casual pace that felt slower than the 15 mph it turned out to be.

Shoulder began aching around 15 miles in so I stopped at the LBS to buy a helmet/sunglasses mirror (I feel nekkid without a Take-a-Look, and my other helmet and mirror are with a friend who rescued my bike and gear from the ER in May). They had a used Specialized Tarmac on sale so I took a spin around the block. Wow. Big difference from my '89 steel bike. That lightweight carbon bike felt like it climbed hills almost by itself. And the bar and hoods are much more comfy than the old school design. The brifters help too -- much quicker to shift on climbs without losing momentum, which is always a problem on climbs with downtube shifters since I have to sit at least briefly to shift. I can see now why I usually get dropped on climbs in faster group rides.

Newer bikes have some definite advantages. Kinda tempted, although I'm not sure I'll have any spare change after medical bills from the injury. We'll see.