Yesterday marked the debut of the Plasma Contessa duo in the tri group. Sue and I took our new steeds for their first long ride. It was an overcast day, fairly mild, good weather for riding. We were hoping the rain would hold off. It didn't but we didn't care. So our bikes got a little dirty. Oh well. It was a windy day as well. We rode out in Bolton / Caledon. It's very hilly out there. Very hilly...so I figured that I'd have a somewhat challenging time climbing on the new bike. It was tough. But, I managed. The bike is SUPER comfortable and it rides like a dream. It climbs fairly well. It was hard for me to stay seated on the steeper climbs due to the different geometry (tri-bikes are in a more aggressive position vs road bikes which are in a more relaxed position--you use more of your quad muscles when you're on a tri bike) so I ended up getting out of the saddle more often than usual, which is tough. We rode out into the wind for most of the ride. That coupled with the hills really took it's toll on me. We got to the top of the big grinder hill and decided to turn around. The way back is much easier as it's mostly flat. There are a few small climbs but nothing too bad. I was cruising along, I felt good. We hit the flat section with the wind at our backs. WOOHOO! I got into my big chain ring and cruised along. I was trying to catch up with Sue who had decided to go ahead when we stopped to get some fluids. I pushed and pushed but she had hopped on Tracy's wheel so I couldn't catch them. I hit the first little hill and my legs started screaming at me. Oh oh. That's not good. From that point on it was all I could do to hang on to the rest of the group. I bonked and I bonked LARGE. I had to try and keep on someone's wheel to get back. My legs were totally exhausted and they HURT. As much as I love my new bike, I was SO happy to get off it. Bonking sucks but, it's part and parcel of training and it will just make me stronger. Next time maybe I won't be such a hammer head.
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