New Speed Record

I took the Jamis out for the second ride today. The weather was a little warmer, but cloudier. I'm still getting a feel for the new bike, but today the bike felt even better than when I rode it on Tuesday. I have to say, I'm really liking the clip-in shoes and pedals. It just feels like I can get more power out with each crank. Especially when I can pull up as well as push down on the pedals. And with the bike being so light, it just leaps forward.

The bike is a lot more comfortable too. I love the Ultegra shifters. Aside from shifting easily and quickly, they're just so comfortable to rest my hands on. My hands used to get raw and tired, especially between the thumb and forefinger and the base of my palms. Not so with these shifters.

And the bike as a whole is just solid. I don't know if it's the carbon in the forks or seatstays or if it's just my imagination, but the bike just seems to dampen a lot of the vibrations from the road, and it doesn't make a sound all the while.

Anyway, today I took the bike out for a 32 mile ride (the 16 mile loop, twice) and I wasn't trying to set any speed record. And after the first loop, I saw that I was on target to complete the second loop in record time. At the end of 32 miles, my average speed for the whole ride was 18.3 mph. The previous record was 18.0 mph, set in October 2007 (yes, I do keep data). I don't know if it's the bike or if I'm just happy to be riding outside again. Anyway, you can see the record performance here. And I used the lap function on the Garmin to get separate time information for both loops. You can see that on the Splits option.

Yeah, I'm really digging the new bike.