On Thursday, I got my new bike courtesy of True North Cycling - distributors of BH bikes. They have loaned me a top of the line BH Global Concept G3 racing bike. For all of you gear heads out there, this is a carbon fibre frame with integrated seat post. The forks, wheels and many of the components are by Reynolds. The drive train is Shimano Dura Ace. It is an incredibly light and agile bike. I will be getting some pictures done soon and I will post them.
Since everyone has their own preference for pedals, I spent Saturday evening taking my pedals off my old bike and placing them on the BH. While trying to remove the right pedal, as soon as it gave way, I thrust my hand into the large, front chain ring. Three teeth of the sprocket punctured my hand, chain grease, road grime and all. Thankfully, I didn't need stitches but I got a tetanus shot for my troubles.
I have always known tetanus shots can make your arm feel like you threw a baseball too hard but it seems they can effect the whole body. Today, I took the BH for its first ride. I was targetting for 90 km and I made it, but not without a lot of pain.
My ride started out beautifully. The bike was so light that I flew up hills and my average speed was much greater than I thought it would be. It took a little getting used to the light weight and the different gear ratios but I quickly settled in. I was well on pace to average 32 km/h, which would have been far better than my initial goal at the start of training. But, with about 25 km to go, I started feeling aches and pains all over my body - not just my puntured hand and innoculated arm, which both hurt throughout the ride. My right knee got the worst of it. After a few more klicks, I was unable to put any weight on my right knee. The last 20 km was powered only by my left leg.
Despite the pain, I made it home with a record average speed for a long ride. For the first 65 km, I was thinking to myself, "Now I get it. I understand how professional racers in the Tour de France can sustain average speeds of about 40 km/h." It's all in the bike. It makes a huge difference to shed 10 lbs off the load.
When I got home, I stretched and soaked in a hot bath for a while. I take tomorrow off again so I hope to heal in time for a short ride on Tuesday. I am looking forward to getting back on the BH.
Details of my ride today:
Route: I won't go into each detail but here is a general summary. From home, over the Lions' Gate Bridge, onto the Stanley Park ring road, along Beach Ave, over the Burrard St Bridge, along Cornwall, Point Grey Rd, arund UBC, along SW Marine Dr, onto the Arthur Lang Bridge, following Russ Baker Way, right on Westminster Hwy, left on No 1 Rd until I hit a total of 45 km (I'm not sure exactly where that got me but it was not quite to Steveston). I turned around and followed the same route back.
Distance: 89.87 km
Time: 3:05:12
Average Speed: 29.1 km/h
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1 comment:
Interesting to know.
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