Fought the blustery west wind over the bridge to Portland (Maine) today and did a short test ride on the Trek 1.1 road bike. Not really a fair day or place to ride a bike with brake/shift for the first time. (my old '78 Fuji S10S has downtube shifters). Seemed light and lively but also less substantial than my old steel bike. At one point the shift to the large chain rig did not seem right and was a little noisy but it was probably my inexperience. Tires also are a lot skinnier than any I have ridden before. Also the handlebar much wider than I am used to. They said I can actually take it home and ride it for a few days so will do that when the weather is more gentle and I can practice shifting on more level ground. Nice people and I want to buy from them if I can do so. Just want to be absolutely sure of the fit, etc. Am not in a position to make a mistake and spend money unless I am sure I will ride it on a daily basis.

Bikes are like puppies....

spring in maine got to love it --- wind tunnel here in western parts

Ensuring that the bike is the right size is the problem. Take the shop up on the loan for a couple of days and then you can adjust and ride the bike to make certain it fits properly. And the change to brifters is easy. Imagine my problem when I went road after years of MTB's where two levers are used for up or down. These stupid Road bikes only had one lever that went in different directions. Took me about 5 minutes to adjust to it.

You will find the geometry to be very relaxed compare to 78 Fuji. I have the same experience with my new Specialized bikes and the 89 Trek. The handle bars are 3-4 inches narrower on the Trek.

We recently got our son his first real road bike, a trek 1.2. He tried a 1.1, my partner also rode both [they are similar height]. The 1.2 had a better feel on the road and components were more comfortable, for us a better value
than the 1.1.

It is less substantial; hi-tensile steel versus aluminum. You'll get used to less substantial.

Take it home and do some measuring,

Well today I went over and picked up the Trek; will try it out tomorrow on my own turf when the wind dies down.
For some reason felt very different about it today. The salesman that helped me just seemed very relaxed and confident and the bike looked really good. When he changed the stem to a shorter one and lowered the seat a bit it also felt good! After leaving my name and phone number (don't you just love Maine?) they let me load it into my vehicle and I told them I would probably bring it back tomorrow evening. Fine. No problem. Plan to take it on my usual run.

Subtle changes to a bike make a world of difference. So will the Glitz of a new bike so check it out on one of your existing routes and see how you feel.

Well, it sure LOOKS pretty! Can't wait for tomorrow to take it on my usual coastal ride.

Sparkly too.

Your LBS sounds like a peach, BTW. You seldom hear of one letting a customer take a bike on evaluation for a few days. People were astonished when they heard my LBS let me take the bike for an entire day.

The handlebars may be too wide. If you aren't wide shouldered you may want narrower bars. Two cm. smaller from the stock bars on my current bike made a world of difference to me in terms of comfort and confidence. If you have a bike that fits you well (and it's an efficient fit - not just something you've put up with and gotten used to over the years) try to duplicate it as much as you can - especially if you have a dealer that wants to work with you. Don't forget to consider crank length.

Is that a compact crankset? I bought mine not knowing what I was buying and fell in love with it. Beats a triple IMO.

Get used to the brifters and you'll wonder why you didn't get them a while ago.

My hubby just bought the same bike in February. He really likes it. Have fun!

Bought the Trek! Did a 26 mile trial run this morning and found the skinny tires not hard to live with; just requires alertness and decent vision which I am fortunate to have. Got used to the easy shifting real fast. After 30 riding days they will tune it up as part of the sale; tighten cables, etc. Probably all stuff I could do myself but its nice service and I prefer having them check it out anyway. They installed a cage and water bottle, tossed in an extra tube. I am very pleased. Oh, the seat. Yes the seat is an inducement to get out of the saddle often. Fortunately I have a more comfortable one I purchased for my other road bike.

Good choice- but you have to realise that a few things are going to change. The saddle you have already found out about but be prepared for the weight loss as you will out knocking up the milage for the next few months. You will be skipping meals at home so warn the wife before she cooks that "Sunday" roast.

The 26 miles you did this morning are going to be nothing to what you will be doing once the saddle is sorted so prepare the routes carefully to get in training for september 18th. If you plan those well enough - you will be able to find a few cafes so perhaps the weight loss will not be a major problem.

So when's the century ride planned?

First I have to do a metric century sometime in the next month. Then ride my age and if I am still functioning and can manage a full day away from home perhaps a century sometime in the summer. Won't be doing any cycling on the 18th of September as I will be arriving in Southampton, after a transatlantic voyage on the QM2.

Continuing the saga of my new Trek road bike today I did 22 miles at an average speed of 14.1 Although that may not seem like much to many of you (most?) the fact is that last spring when I started cycling again I was only averaging 10 mph and I was at least 10 lbs heavier. True, I switched to a road bike from a hybrid and then from an older road bike to a new lighter Trek I like to believe some of the increase is due to getting into better shape. At any rate I am really enjoying these spring days on my shiny new bike. Love the easier shifting!

Knew you would.

If you are interested in increasing your speed over time and you typically ride solo I find using a bike computer that gives average speed read out is a useful tool.

I tend to ride the same circuit a lot and will set my readout to the average speed at around the halfway point. With an acquired knowledge of what my average has been and should be I'll either have to start working like hell to catch up or just maintain and try to outperform the rest of the ride. I also work on my pedal cadence and try to keep my spin between 85 and 100 rpm. I use the wired Cateye Astrale 8 to give me this information.

I have tried that when using the bike on my trainer and it is an incentive to speed up the pace but also can be a pretty tough taskmaster. My goal is to ride as efficiently and fast as I can but without killing myself in the process. After all if I get too hung up on speed I surely will not relish the enjoyment of riding. I Find that paying attention to when and how to shift makes a big difference but takes a bit of focus.

That the attitude. Don't forget the joy of wind in your face and the feeling of flying.

However when you make those steps in fitness and strength you'll get these endorphin rushes that make the pain worthwhile. Sometimes it's worth hurting to reach the next level.

I'm always pushing because I always end up slacking off. Either work, the weather or some physical thing will interrupt me for a time and I'll have to start over. Right now I've had to be off the bike for almost 3 weeks because of a hernia repair. Just got the OK to resume my normal activity this morning so I'm going for a slow one in a couple of minutes. I'll be building it back up for three weeks now. But I like that kind of goal.