Pick up ride

[Mark B]

Last evening (3/27) some friends of mine from the club did a spur of the moment ride. We did basically the same route we do on our Sunday morning breakfast ride, except backwards. The challenge this time was traffic, as this was during the rush hour; much heavier than a typical Sunday morning. When we turned to the west, we also faced a considerable headwind. One of the guys is comparable to me in fitness and ability, the other two are working on it. My general feeling was that I could have ridden away from them at any time I wished and in fact, did when we turned into the headwind. The Silvio really cuts through the wind nicely. I had to slow my pace way down so they could get back on. The only complaint I heard from the three was that they prefer me to ride the conversion because I sit higher and offer more of a draft. Wheel suckers. :roll:

We had fun and I got the usual stares from motorists. We agreed that tonight, we are going to do a local climbing favorite, so I'll get a better feel for how the Silvio handles the road when it turns upwards.

Mark

 

[Nanda H.]

Excellent, cant wait to hear about the hill climbing report.

Hope my WTB bars arrive shortly, so I can get my Thumbies mounted up in the middle near the clamp, and start riding this puppy. If switching gears seems uneasy, then I'll grab some Ultegra STI's.

 

[Mark B]

Nanda H. wrote: Excellent, cant wait to hear about the hill climbing report.

We did one short but fairly steep climb last night. I was able to get a pretty good run at it and barely even slowed down.

Mark

 

[Kamatu]

Mark B wrote: The only complaint I heard from the three was that they prefer me to ride the conversion because I sit higher and offer more of a draft. Wheel suckers. :roll:

OT

Heh, that was one of the things I shook my head about when there was an argument about recumbents in the TdF. The lower recumbents wouldn't provide the same drafting as an upright. Of course there was the silly position that since you weren't leaning over the front and could see your front tire that riders couldn't keep a tight line, but all that would take is practice by the team.

/OT

OTOH, how well can you draft off them?

 

[Mark B]

Kamatu wrote:
OTOH, how well can you draft off them?

What is this "draft" you speak of? :lol: :lol:

Actually, I get a great pull and end up having to feather my brakes to keep from riding right up their rear!

Mark