Ok, so I’m riding into work now and have a fancy new bike computer so I can get all the fancy stats (Speed, Distance, Cadence, Time, etc).
So my current stats on this are:-
Unfortunately I don’t have average cadence, but when I’m doing around 25km/h my cadence is around 70, so about average for an amature bike rider.
Even though I’ve only done the ride 3 times now, my trip time is improving significantly. First ride took pretty much an hour exactly, next ride was 50 mins, so I’m definately getting fitter (which I guess is the point).
Hardest part of the journey is along Footscray Rd. There are two bridges, first one isn’t too bad, but the second one is a killer for me. One of the two areas that I could significantly improve my time. The other being the ride through Yarraville/Seddon.
So I got my bike yesterday, it’s pretty sweet. Reminds me how unfit I currently am though. I’m only riding 6km’s (only done it twice so far) at the moment (takes around 15mins), but I’m quite puffed at the end of it. Quite a bit less than the 15km’s I need to be able to do to ride to work, but I’ll get there eventually.
So as for specs, well, it’s XL in size, gunmetal grey in colour, disc brakes, suspension on the front forks and under the seat, the gears you just twist the inside of the grips on the handlebars, 24speeds (I think, if they’re all accessible from each other – 3 on the peddles and 8 on the back). All in all it’s a pretty smooth ride.
I spent quite a bit on accessories (a bit more than I was expecting to), but at least now I have everything that I should need (helmet, gloves, pump/repair kit, lock, lights, water bottle), the only other thing I can imagine I may need is a rear mudguard for when it’s wet (brown stripe up my back if I don’t get one).
The guy that sold it to me was really nice, didn’t seem to try to rip me off either, which is good. Spent about an hour and a half at the store chatting to him while he built it.
Anyway, that’s pretty much it for the bike, I’ll probably keep updating this on my fitness levels though. Hopefully it won’t take me too long to get fit enough to ride all the way in.
My bike
