Team de Jong

I am now a SPONSORED ATHLETE!  I am the official ambassador of Team de Jong.  Meaning, my parents gave me a check to help pay for my new bike, and in exchange I will put their (aka my) name on my gear.

This windfall certainly helps answer the question of if I should buy a new bike.  Unfortunately, it doesn't help answer which bike I should buy.  This issue is further complicated by the fact that, as mentioned in my last blog, I have actually already bought a new bike.  One would think that once several bikes have been tested and a new bike has been purchased the matter would be settled.  But due to Performance Bike's incredible return policy (I can return my bike for a refund for up to a full year after purchase!) the bike hunt is technically still on.  And at every turn I continue to be confronted by options.  For instance, I am finding bikes that are aluminum, but actually weigh less than my carbon bike.  And just yesterday I read a review in Triathlete magazine of the Felt B16 triathlon bike, which said it was very stable for a tri bike, which (trust me on this) is a huge deal.  Until now I have shied away from the idea of a dedicated tri bike because, 1. They are not versatile and, 2. They ruin my face.  But this thing sounds like the best of both worlds, and there is always the option of selling it if I don't use it after Ironman.

Of course, all of these issues are even further complicated by HOW BEAUTIFUL MY BIKE IS:

This picture doesn't even do her justice!  She is gorgeous!

I took the new bike for my 60 mile training ride last Friday to test it out.  Here is a terrible idea: Change every thing about your bike (size, weight, seat, position, length of training ride) and then try to figure out which one of the 20 things you changed is the problem.

The main issues on my ride were:

1. Overall fatigue
2. Excessive pain in my butt/personal seat-related region (to the point that coming to a stop actually hurt almost more than riding)
3. More comfortable riding in the upright position than on Cannondale, but less comfortable in the more aerodynamic position (lower down with hands in the "drops"-the curled part of handle bars)

The causes are most likely:

1. 60 miles is a long way.  I may be using different muscles in new position.  It was hot and humid and I may have fallen short of necessary re-fueling.

2. New seat.  Smaller bike, which puts me in a different position on the seat.

3. Smaller bike creates altogether different riding position, namely in terms of my reach to handlebars.

These are all fixable.  But what occurred to me on my ride, in terms of having just purchased a $1600 bike, was:

1. The overall ride was not noticeably smoother than on the Cannondale.  The Cannondale is all aluminium, which is supposed to be a much rougher ride than carbon, which the new bike is.  But it didn't seem any better, especially on the rough parts of the road, where the bumps were just as jarring as before.  Is it worth $1600 if the ride is not smoother?

2.  I did not go any faster than my last ride on the same route.  If I am not any faster, what's the point?

3. After Ironman I cannot imagine ever spending a day off riding 60+ miles just for fun.  I may ride 25 or even 30, but these monster rides will be a thing of the past.  Biking will never be my main activity.  And the Cannondale is fine for a 30 mile ride.  Is it worth a $1600 investment for a bike I won't need after November?

So these are the questions I have to answer, and I believe the answers can only be found on the bike, on the road.