Race Across America

Well, the store's virtual "Race Across America" started the other day. This is the ride where each store, represented by a four person team will log miles on bikes provided by the store and Trek or Specialized (depending on which brand the individual store carries) with the winning team being awarded with the bikes.

I kicked things off the other morning by getting together with Jeffrey (another rider from the store) and logging about 20 miles on the bike path. It was a good chance to spend a little time getting to know him and teaching him a little about drafting as the wind was a solid 20-25mph throughout the ride.

After parting ways, I headed out of town for an additional 30 miles to finish with a total of 51. Each of us are only allowed to log 125 miles per week, so I did another 30 this morning leaving me with 45 miles to ride before work on Monday. I'm hoping to get to ride at Mom and Dad's this weekend and shouldn't have too much trouble with the remaining miles.

Jeffrey called me last night at work to check in and had already done 133 in the first two days of the ride. Let's just say he's one committed individual. He's a former pro boxer who fought Sugar Ray Leonard and is in phenomenal physical condition. I don't know another team with a rider near his age and I think he could bury most of the guys on the other teams. Glad he's on mine. He's also about the most gracious guy you could hope to know and it's been a joy getting to spend time with him at work and around the bike.

The pics are of the Trek Madone 5.0 that I am sharing with Josiah (another team member and the manager for bike accessories at the store). We're also sharing a LeMond Versailles which Josiah is currently riding. We'll trade in a few weeks and I'll have some pics of that one as well. We're going to have to flip a coin if we end up winning or buying the bikes to see who gets which one.

About the Madone... I love it. I love my current bike, but have noticed that this one accelerates faster, climbs a bit easier and I can carry larger gears with less effort. I'm actually toying with the idea of selling the Zurich and which ever one of the team bikes I might end up with and buying something even a step up. My only complaints about the Madone 5.0 is that the wheel set is a step down from my Zurich as are the stem and handlebar. The wheels and stem aren't a huge deal, but the handlebar is a constant frustration for me. I'm used to a Bontrager Race Lite and this one is a Bontrager Race, the biggest difference being that the Race Lite has some ergonomic design that provides a flat spot in the drops right below the brakes while the Race is a curved bar all the way through. I ride in the drops quite a bit and need as many hand positions as I can get because of numbness in my hands that I've experienced for the last year. Sometimes it's better than others, but I've noticed it is much harder to find relief on the Madone. If I were to keep this bike, I would change the bar in a heartbeat, but probably not much else.

I'll keep updating on mileage over the next six weeks (the approximate length of the race) and hope to enjoy getting to ride borrowed bikes for awhile.