Alright, I gave an honest try on the Guv'nor today. Just ain't happenin'! Calm when I went out. Was still a few seconds better than a 19 mph avg at mile 7. At around 15 miles in the afternoon headwinds kicked it. At the hour mark I hit right on 17 miles. Downhill from there, headwinds and lots of people in the way on the path. I stayed off the road most of the ride since I was without a helmet and thus a mirror to see behind me. The path is a mess for several miles so you're always having to unload your weight on the saddle for the bumps, thus messing up your rhythm.

Observations with trying to ride the Guv'nor fast as it's setup. The B17 saddle doesn't let my thighs swing free enough, I'm pointing my knees out a bit. Flat shoes with half clips on the pedals hinders me too. Can't pull back or up fully on each stroke. Aero is not happening, LOL! I tried getting a bit tucked but my messed up lower back just didn't like the position on this bike. Gearing is an issue for me. I really needed a gear between 2 and 3 for all the mild uphill sections. Gear two had lungs blowing up as I tried to spin fast and gear three meant mashing to much on the hills. I could tell my quads were affected by the altered position on this. This one hurt today, no denying that. Got home and had that ammonia smell which means I was out of fuel in the body and burning muscle.

Now, all that said. I think on a flat route I could do a 19 mph avg run. I can spin this in third gear in the 20 mph range when it's flat with no problem. Just any bit of uphill and you notice the 30+ lbs and heavy wheels. Every time you slow for cars, intersections, people in the way, etc. you really do burn some matches get it back up to speed. But once it's there it will cruise right along as long as it stays flat. I've done a couple of 40 mile cruising rides and it's a joy for those.

Anyway, the ride today was 24.23 miles in 1:28:30 with 604 ft of climbing for an average pace of 16.4 mph. I did a little more climbing because I changed direction on the one loop to get that climbing piece in for a shorted 1 mile distance vs stretching it out over a 3 mile distance.


This is how I have it set up right now.

The water is shut off at Huntsville Park so I couldn't refill my water bottle had to go hard for 24 miles on only one bottle. Normally I'll use two along this route if riding hard.



You can see how erratic the speed is over the rough and hilly section of the path.