Day 167 - Moving to the Next Level

It had to happen. I've been thinking long and hard recently about moving to the next level in my cycling and perhaps next year buying a road bike to both achieve the speeds of my fellow pedallers on the Thursday evening rides and to increase my distances. I have also been mulling over the AVP 100 Mile Ride scheduled for Sunday 15 September and whether I wouldn't be better acquiring a new set of wheels now rather than waiting for next year ..  as a) I'm already at the stage of needing to make the move and b) I'm not getting any younger so why delay! So, yes, it had to happen, a trip to the Bike Shed saw me striking a great deal on a 2013 Specialized Roubiux Sport Compact model 90E3-6152 in carbon, charcoal and white. I'm still pinching myself!

A new stable mate for my steed, the new Roubiux

The weekend started, however, with a quick 9.5 mile ride over my three hils and a circuit of Colyton. I've remarked before on how this is a perfect mix of flat and hills and all this can be done in less than an hour.  I need to record it on my Garmin as a lap so that I can track my performance from one day to the next while actually on my ride, I am sure I can do this, I'll have to dig out the manual again. Having completed this Saturday circuit on my hybrid in a reasonable 45 minutes, I had wondered what the same would be on my new road bike, so a re-run was on the cards for Sunday afternoon.

My steed, my trusted hybrid Crosstrail

Two things were however against me on the Sunday, not even counting the unfamiliarity of my new racer - yes you can see I'm managing your expectations here - an afternoon in a seaside town in holiday season meant the roads were crowded with lost tourists and my legs were still killing me after my over ambitious attack on the Thursday hills. So, first impressions. I was very impressed with its initial pickup, carrying considerably less weight that the hybrid and it made the first rise up Seaton Down Hill with ease. I found that in the high speed down hill sections, I had less confidence than on my steed, the racer being lighter and more skittish, than my seemingly invincible hybrid, is going to take time getting used to. I was, however, amazed with how it soaked up the bumps in the road. I guess this is a combination of the flexing built into the frame, its lightness and the extra padding in the handle bars; it is really designed for our Devon roads!

Overall, the racer covered the same distance in 42 minutes, a 3 minute improvement. Many of my split times were not as good and the top speed was slightly down, but the average speed was an extra mph quicker overall. So I can see great potential, I just need clear roads and a return to fitness.

Stats:
Sat:  9.5 mi, 45m :24s, Avg 12.6 mph, Max 36.9, 503 kcalSun: 9.5 mi, 42m :01s, Avg 13.6 mph, Max 32.7, 504 kcal