Winter's end
With the Brevets looming in my future and some last minute encouragement from Ed Kross, I went for my first brevet training ride this week. It was rough. I started a bit tired (good for brevet simulation) and rode around the Quabbin Resivior, 127 miles. My (HotTubes) bike had a rack, trunk w/food, and fenders on it and weighed more than 30 pounds without bottles. The first 70 miles featured a solid headwind. I spent a significant amount of time in the aero bars below 12 mph trying to hide from it. Eventually got a couple hours of tailwind but I finished the ride completly wrecked.
Because you need to know: I did not enjoy the ride but learned a few important things. I might need a lower gear than a 38×27 and I need a new stem to raise my bars on my CAAD 7. Racing bikes need modification to become lightweight style brevet machines. I already have quick release fenders rigged up.