i'm a roadie

i spent a couple hours sunday afternoon out on canada road with a couple hundred of my closest biking pals. my bike and i did rather well. at one point, after blowing through a series of stop signs, my riding buddy remarked that i was a born roadie. i agree!

i haven't ridden in years. i love riding. how do these two reconcile? i had not the right bike, until now.

i don't want to give too much credit to the bike: after all, it's me doing the pedaling. so it's i and i that do the work, and i and i tend to fly, at least when it's flat. i'm quite slow on the uphills, though not nearly so slow as when i was riding the wrong bike: mechanical advantage, baby!

mechanical advantage is something i have to get used to. shifting is easy and effective now (this is new) and even when pedaling at a good cadence, just the slightest increase in power output or a small shift of toe position can have a surprising effect on my speed (also new). on this ride, there was not a lot of stopping, so i didn't get much practice with the clipping/unclipping of the pedals, but i did get the opportunity to feel some of the difference that clipless pedals + shoes make. i was not dragging the crankshaft up, but i did find that i could pedal lightly to great effect -- not possible on my old bike.

overall, i enjoyed my ride immensely, and am happy with my diversion into a new sport. now i just need some time to ride (uh, not a request for a layoff, in case you're listening, universe).