painting

we painted the trim on the house..but now I hate the color. We'll have to paint again. I hired a consultant this time.

My new ride - Opus Scherzo

So I finally got a new bike after a year or two of humming an hawing. I got it at Wentings Cycle in Mision. I was just going to get some new tri-shorts, but Bruce showed me the bike...My size and under $1000. Amazing. It is all aluminum, has carbon fiber seat stays, seat post and forks...which seems amazing to me on a bike at this price. Kevlar wheels and Shimano 105 components as well.

It is quite a comfortable ride. It probably bumps my average speed up by about 3 km per hour. The size makes a big difference too. I can pedal more effectively, with less strain, particularly on my knee. I find the muscle group utilization interesting as well. I really engage my hamstrings quite a bit, particularly in aero position. When I am sitting upright, I use a lot more of my quads, and climbing is pretty much all quads.

While flat riding is really nice, I find that climbing is more difficult. I have to sit down mostly. Standing up is a real burn on my quads. I mean a real burn. Sitting seems to make it more difficult pedaling, but standing, you can accelerate quite quickly, probably too quickly. So I end up pedaling too fast and need to change gears...which is almost impossible with this shifter setup and my center of gravity so far forward.
Anyways, I might get used to it, or just get better technique or muscle strength after a while. The upside is that the bike is so light compared to my highbrid that pushing up the hill is easier, and offsets some of the difficulty with shifting issues. Still I can't seem to sustain a great deal of speed or power uphill without burning a hole in my quads.

As far as shifting goes on relatively flat or shallow hills, the bike is quite amazing. Really responsive shifting. I think the setup of the bike makes for a much less strenuous ride as well as more comfortable. I feel that I could usually go farther on the rides of done so far. Once my knee gets a bit better in shape, I probably will do that. I think the strengthening of the surrounding muscle in my leg will help that. Also, as Bruce suggested, keeping the knees warm seems to make a difference, as it helps prevent the tendons from 'seizing up'. Anyhow, I've had the bike for a week now almost, and I've put about 60 km on it. Hopefully as I get better in shape that will improve.

I went on a run two days ago, and I felt very strong. My cadence was quick. It felt as if the muscle build up I've got from biking so far is helping my run. Also, on the bike I am working on having a higher cadence, and I suspect that translates into a tendency for a higher cadence in running as well.

One thing I have to get used to on this bike is the lack of stability compared to my hybrid. It is more responsive, and changing positions on the bike needs to done carefully, especially getting into aero position.

I've got my regular pedals on my hybrid now, so I can use that to run quick errands if I like without having to switch into biking shoes. Should be cool. The back wheel is out of true a bit on that bike, and the spokes are too rusty/corroded to adjust, so I would have to eventually get a new wheel.

All in all , biking seems to be fun again for me. And as long as my knee isn't over stressed, I think it will be a great low impact way to get some conditioning back.

OP-SCH6-L