65 Days and Counting...

All packed up and ready to go

My alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, but I was already awake.  My dog woke me up at 4am, and I never really made it back to sleep.  I was excited because today was going to be the day that I took my new bike out for it's inaugural ride...an initiation of sorts...but for who?

I had every intention of getting out on the trail by 6:30 however, a few last minute adjustments (that I should have mad last night) postponed my start time by about 20 minutes.  No big deal...better to have the bike ready to go, than to have something break on the inaugural ride right?

Me, bike, Element...let's ride!

 I packed my new toy inside my little Honda Element for today's journey to the riding spot.  The reason I put it inside wasn't because it was new...although the thought had crossed my mind momentarily.  Actually, the bike is so pretty, I almost didn't want to ride it!  Anyway...this bike has a different type of wheel attachment to the fork, so it doesn't work with my roof rack...not yet anyway!  So instead, I packaged it carefully into the Element (nicknamed the Root Beer Float, by a friend of mine), loaded up all the necessities such as shoes, helmet, gloves, camelbak, etc. and slowly closed the hatch, hoping the bars wouldn't hit the glass.  A perfect fit!   If you are a cyclist, the Honda Element is a great vehicle...you can actually fit two bikes inside with plenty of room to put all of your gear...it's works out great.  I have a roof rack on mine, so I could actually transport 4 bikes with this tiny little, toaster-look-alike vehicle.  I love it!

A short drive and soon I was at the parking spot, gearing up and getting ready to take my new toy out for it's first ride.  Today would be a short ride, just 12-miles.  I didn't want to go too far, just in case something happened, and I had to call my handy rescue service...my wife Donna.  Last night she and I talked about where I should ride this morning...I wanted to go somewhere that was pretty far from home.  Donna wanted me to think about staying closer, just in case she got the call to come pick me up.  She is much wiser than I am...so needless to say, I stayed close to home.  I unpacked my bike, attached the front wheel, and just stood there admiring it.  It is truly the coolest looking bike I have ever seen.  The frame is a work of art, with amazing lines, and very cool visible carbon fiber cloth under the high gloss finish.  Like I said...it's almost too pretty to get dirty...but I managed to do so!

It'll never be this clean again

As I hit the trail, I was immediately showered with a multitude of tiny pieces of gravel.  You see, the tires on this bike are brand new...and very sticky!  Every mountain biker experiences this feeling whenever new tires are put on a bike.  It's a little annoying, but only lasts for a couple of minutes as the initial tackiness of the tire wears off.  Today however, it was more than just annoying...it was concerning!  It sounded like it was completely destroying my brand new, carbon-fiber frame!  Carbon frames sound completely different than aluminum frames...they have a 'hard-plastic' sound to them when you tap on them...or when they are being showered by hundreds of tiny rocks.  I actually stopped to check if there was any damage to my bike!  Pretty stupid huh?  That is pretty much what I said (out loud) to myself when I saw that no damage had occurred.  I mean, come on...carbon fiber is stronger than steel, so how could a few little baby rock hurt it, right?  

An inaugural trail photo

The ride was great!  This bike is amazingly fast.  Just like all bikes, when the pedals turn, the bike moves forward.  On this bike however, when you turn the pedals the bike launches forward!  This thing screams!  Not only does it go really, really fast...it handles like a sports car.  The Ellsworth Hand-built wheels are actually 5mm wider than standard mountain bike tires, which means that the tire is spread out wider, creating a larger contact-patch on the ground, making it more responsive and stable in the turns...this bike hooks up, and allows the rider to rail the turns, and then launch out of them with the utmost confidence.  

It is going to take me a little while however, to feel completely comfortable on my new bike, as it is a hard-tail frame (no rear suspension), which means that you can feel much more in the rear end of the bike.  My other bike is a full suspension bike, so it is much more plush over the bumps.  One is not necessarily better than the other, but both bikes require a slightly different riding style than each other.  I have ridden hard-tail bikes before, but it has been a while, and I need some practice!  When you ride them wrong, you can feel bumps and hits all the way up your spine...at least I can, and I have a damaged spine to begin with...so, like I said, I need to practice riding this bike...and practice I will!