Just like you do not introduce your new girlfriend to your family on the first date, I decided to go solo with my new bike today on Sunday. After all, her name is "Soloist". I also wanted to do some quite of special ride, so I was pondering whether to go over Yabitsu, Tomin no Mori, Matsuhime or some other place. In the end I decided on Tomin no Mori which used to be a ride I did maybe two times during one season, this year I have been up there already three times, today included. I was also in need of some elevation as I am going to start in Shunzenji next week, D-class = 3 laps, never ever I attempted to do three laps in a row in Shuzenji.
The weather was good and the bike felt just great. I do not want to become this a bike to look at, or to treat it special. This is my new bike and I will ride it just as I rode my Cannondale, it is not an addition, it is the long awaited replacement.
Nagai-San adjusted the bike so that the position is more or less exactly as my Cannondale was, so I felt immediately good on the bike. However the clamp which keeps the saddle post in place does not. So while I was riding I constantly lost height. I put really some torque on the clamp to fix the position of the saddle post and it worked out - then the upper fixation started to get loosen and the saddle started rotating. Small things, Nagai-san will sort them out for me.
If anything, the bike feels very precise. I realize now that it was a mistake to use my Ultegra shifters for seven years and more - the new shifters shift effortless and precise. The frame feels not very much different compared to the Cannondale.
I rode a slow pace to the 7-eleven at Itsukaichi, had a break (lots of riders there) and then continued to Honjuku. I was eager to go up fast, but on the other hand I also wanted to try to stay at a high cadence and keep my heartbeat under control. That went very well. Just after Honjuku there eas the first speed trap by the police - no problem for me as I was going up. I continued to climb steady and with not so much effort until elevation 700 or so. One rider passed me (one of the riders I saw at the 7-eleven), but he wasn't that much faster than I was and the more we climbed the slower he got. I was able to stay on his wheel.
Together we passed another guy who was only a little bit slower than we were. But this guy was not on a bike - this guy was running up the road towards Tomin no Mori. Very impressive, I guess he was running around 10 km/hr.
Basically I felt o
k and much better than two week before. I continued without a break and made it up to Tomin no Mori. At the deserted gatehouse at elv. 800 m my companion made a break and I continued to climb in a little bit less than 1:12 hours. I guess I wasn't riding that much faster than last week, but I managed to go up without breaks.I had some family obligations, so I started the descent early and rode home in one long stretch from Tomin no Mori. It took me close to four hours to go up and a little bit less than three hours to return to base.
A nice spring day in love.
Hey, who would say here "Hana yori dango" ?
7 comments:
Nice journey;-)
Congratulations! The Soloist looks just gorgeous!
BTW Michael, it's "The Woods of the Citizens" (not "The Village of the Citizens")...made the correction.
Congratulations. Yes, the new Ultegra and Dura shift much more precisely than the 9-speed generation (or other older shifters) ... probably the most quickly noticeable change to an upgrade and makes a big difference. The bike looks fast ... but I still think the grey and red frame compels you to transition away from yellow bar tape and seat (and tires) toward another color. Any other color.
Michael, looseness of the clamp holding the seatpost is very common with a new bike. Try the special compound put on the market by Tackx (not 100% sure about the correct spelling - the little pot has a red lid) and apply over the length of the seatpost going into the frame. This compound contains carbon particles working as a anti-lubricant and also works perfect on aluminum. This way you won't have to torque up the clamp and risk ruining the frame!
Thank you for the hint with the Tacx, I have found the website :
http://www.tacx.com/producten.php?fl=true&language=EN&lvlMain=18&lvlSub=66&ttop=Maintenance%20Tools
and I will ask Nagai-San asap.
This is the third time that David comments on the color mayching between the silver/red frame and the orange components. But, it is not only the tires, the handle bar tape and the seat that ae orange. Also all the wiring, the lights, the bottle cage and even the valve caps and the wire end caps are in orange. And do not forget that on a ride, a bulky foreigner completlt clad in orange will be sitting on the bike.
I will consider the give the frame a new coat of orange paint.
Glad you found it. I use the stuff on my handlebar and seatpost and am very satisfied with it. I'm sure Nagai-san has it in store.
AND YES ASK NAGAI-san to give the Soloist a complete orange paint job! I somewhat disagree with David L...the color scheme and general looks now are not that bad HAHAHA!! (but personally I would stick to black, white, silver and red)
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