the ride...

...is really nice.

Really. Nice.

And I wasn't prepared to say that. With my dilly-dallying around it seemed ok, but I was honestly second guessing all the $ and time putting this thing together. But this morning I got to ride it fast and THAT is where it rides nice. Really. Nice.

It's hard for me to explain without relying on trite phases like "front end stability" and "stiff, but comfortable," but all that explains it well. It's right around 400 watts where I can really tell the difference between this ride and my last one. It just feels fast. Stable. Stiff. All that.

Yeah.

Buy a Tarmac.

From In-Gear.

...

Too bad I don't have the same positive feelings for my mtn bike. Yesterday I drove the 45 minutes from Philly to Granogoe and beat a little more crap out of that red bike of mine. The headset has had it. Maybe after replacing that I'll like the bike a little more. Maybe just a little.

Race report: Two flats--one for each of the two laps I completed (I was supposed to do three). Awesome.

Lessons learned: (1) I go up good. (2) I go down slow. (3) Forty psi is too much for that course.

After the race I tooled around on Moats' new race 29-er a little. The difference between my bike and his was disturbing.