Because sometimes TV gets it right

August 25, 2013 17:58 | Leave a Comment |

Anya: Okay. For the last time. I, Anya, want to marry you, Xander, because I love you and I’ll always love you. And before I knew you, I was like a completely different person. Not even a person, really. And I had seen what love could do to people, and it was hurt and sadness. Alone was better. And then, suddenly there was you, and… you knew me. You saw me, and it was this… thing. You make me feel safe and warm. So, I get it now. I finally get love, Xander. I really do.

Hell’s Bells, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 6, ep 6.

Yup, I’m gettin’ hitched in six days.

Posted in: Got hitched! | Tagged: ,

So, about those life changing decisions…

August 18, 2013 21:22 | Leave a Comment |

So…. in April last year I announced I was engaged (and had gotten engaged in the most romantic city in the world – Paris). And that was it. I haven’t mentioned it since. Which is kinda weird considering it’s such a monumental thing.

In 13 days, I’ll be getting married.

I’m a somewhat reluctant bride. I love the idea of being married, that makes me really happy. But I’m very ambivalent about this whole wedding thing. I’ve never enjoyed being the centre of attention. And a wedding is all about that. I’m suppose to fluttering about, hugely excited about this very fact and I’m the exact opposite of that. I love my wedding dress but I quickly got sick of the whole getting it fitted process. I can’t wait to wear it but I’m worried about getting in and out of it. It’s not a step-into dress, it’s an over-the-head dress which complicates the hair and make-up process. And speaking of that – I’m trying to be excited about having people fuss over me, doing my make-up and hair but I’m simply not.

I’ve found the whole process of organising a wedding stressful. I’ve had so many comments about how organised I am so I must be putting out this placid, calm vibe but really, it’s a frenzy of activity. No one really tell you how much needs to be organised and how, towards the end, it will suck up all of your free time. It’s exhausting.

So yeah, I guess I’ve become very negative when it comes to the wedding. I figure I should do something about that and start focusing what’s good about it. Because really, it’s not about the wedding – it’s all about what happens afterwards.

It took me a long time to rid myself of the stupid idea of there being “the one”. I realise now that the best we can hope for when it comes to relationships and marriage is to find someone who you really like as a person. I’m lucky enough to have found that, especially considering I’m a cranky old lady these days.

I dunno… maybe I’ve finally worked out that real success in relationships comes from being willing to be open and truly yourself. And that you have to be willing to properly communicate with each other without getting angry. And I guess that other big thing is acceptance. I feel accepted by him, he doesn’t judge me. Even we when first got together that I have his total support. He lets me do my own thing yet also makes me like I have someone who will catch me if it all goes wrong. I’m not sure I’ve ever had that before. I hope he feels that I give him the same level of support.

So, perhaps that’s what I should be focusing one when it comes to the wedding. It’s where the rest of our relationship starts.

Posted in: Got hitched! | Tagged: , , , ,

Going up?

April 26, 2013 18:41 | Leave a Comment |

Scan of my 7 Peaks passport with its four stamps

For someone who proclaims loudly that they hate climbing, I sure do seem to do a lot of it.

In the last six months, I have ridden up five mountains. I know, only four stamps above but I did Donna Buang as well (a week before tackling Mt Buller again – which went way better this year than last year). That’s real progress considering that until the middle of 2010, I had never ridden up anything steeper than Yarra Boulevard in Kew. Now I’ve conquered some of the bigger climbs in Victoria – some of of them, twice!

It’s taken me a long time to get in the right head space for climbing. I’ve accepted the fact that I will never be as quick as other, stronger riders but I can do it if I’m willing to plod along. Because of my prolapsed disc, I climb slowly – which can be incredibly frustrating when you’re always the last person to reach the summit. But I figure it’s better to reach the summit ages after everyone else has than be parked on the couch doing nothing at all. At least I’m trying.

I suppose I have been very slowly seduced by climbing. I get why we do it. It is really satisfying to reach the summit. The new bike helps too. I didn’t think I’d notice any difference but the stiffness of the carbon frame does make it easier to settle into a rhythm. I never really noticed any flex in my Cannondale but I have noticed that I seem to be more efficient with my BMC so the flex must be there somewhere. Both of them have Ultegra so it’s not a gearing issues (the only difference being that my BMC has electronic shifting). I dunno… it just seems a tiny bit easier. Maybe it’s a mental thing and I’m trying harder because I think the bike deserves a better rider. *lol*

There are thoughts brewing this year of tackling Mt Hotham. I have a real mental block when it comes to Hotham. It seem impossible to me. It’s such a long climb, sections of it are incredibly steep and everyone I know who’s climbed it all say how hard it is. Not exactly encouraging me to do it. But I’ve decided it must be done at some point. So maybe this is the year I’ll shove all my concerns to one side and just do it.

However! There is an upside of course. It’s a hell of lot more fun coming down the mountain than it is going up!

Posted in: Bike | Tagged: , , , ,

The mysteries of a bike fit

March 6, 2013 21:01 | Leave a Comment |

Well, not really that mysterious.

Mostly it’s get on the bike, get off the bike, get on the bike, get off the bike, pedal hard, get off the bike, get on the bike, get in the drops, get off the bike, get on the bike, get off the bike. Repeat what feels like about a million times until finally you’re done.

I had a Body Geometry fit at Bike Now. Nope, I don’t have a Specialized bike (but they were one of the brands on my radar) but it doesn’t make a difference. As they say on their site, they will fit you to whatever bike you happen to own, regardless of brand. Chris did a great job too. I’d seen him before when I bought my Specialized shoes and was having a huge amount of trouble with the cleat position. He sorted that and I felt that he really listened to what I was saying so it made me eager to have him do a fit on my new bike.

He’s good. Really good. We spent about the first half an hour talking about what I wanted to get from my bike riding (he was surprised I had no desire to race), my experiences on the bike and any injuries I’ve had. He did the sit bone measurement, checked my feet to see what my arches were like and checked to see how flexible I am (pretty flexible apparently!).

Then the whole get on the bike, get off the bike process started. At first he just watched me ride. Then he started tweaking and switched my saddle to a 143mm Oura Pro. The difference was immediate. I realised that the whole time I’ve been riding I’ve never really sat on my sit bones on the bike, especially on the right side. What’s most curious is at the bottom of each pedal stroke, there’s a centimetre difference between my left leg (126) versus my right (125). That’s a quite a hip drop I’ve got going on there courtesy of my prolapsed disc. Still, Chris thinks the pedal stroke thing might correct itself now that I have a saddle that’s the right width but it’s a big might. I’m not expecting things to change but still *fingers crossed*.

I know, I know… I’ve bought into the on-sell with the saddle and I am getting a black version of the Oura. However Specialized seem to be the only people who make saddles that are narrower than 147mm. Which is a problem for us girls with skinny hip bones. If you want a wider saddle, sure but narrower – forget about it.

Because of the fit, I’ve ordered a new stem. The one that came with my bike is 110mm but when we did all the measuring for an ideal stem length/angle it turned out I was more comfortable with a 100mm one. So he flipped the stem and angled the bars up. He took some photos of me at the start and end of the fit and you can see the difference. My arms are so straight in the first photo and much more relaxed in the second one.

The whole thing took about two and a half hours. It really was interesting. It was amazing how much information Chris gathered from just watching me ride. He worked out I wasn’t straight on the saddle after about 30 seconds of watching me ride while standing behind me. He really is interested in making the experience of riding a bike the best it can be. He spent a lot of time working on my position on the saddle and making sure it was in the right position, especially considering that was the main reason I went to see him. It was worth it, even though my arse hates me right now. I have a test saddle (brand new, mine is the first arse to sit on it) on my bike so my right site bone isn’t happy with me at all because it has to get used to doing some work.

Perhaps though it wasn’t the best idea to try out a brand new saddle on the 105km M.A.D. ride which included riding up Mt Macedon. Now, there are two ways to get up Mt Macedon. One is relatively easy, the other is quite hard. Guess which one I experienced? I’ve discovered that 13% climbs are an all-body experience for me. The next day everything hurt. Arms, back, shoulders. Still, I passed plenty of guys on the way up who were walking, even though I was only riding at 5km/h. It got the point where I was only looking about a metre in front of me and it got done to me dealing with it one pedal-stroke at a time. Looking up was crushing because the road just seemed so steep and never-ending.

There definitely wasn’t enough down on this ride. Took me 48 minutes to get up the damn mountain but there was only 13 minutes of fun on the way down! The rest of the ride felt like a bit of a slog. There was a lot of up and the down didn’t come until the last 20kms of the ride. Still, it was a fun day out.

Posted in: Bike | Tagged: , , , ,

You’re a handsome devil. What’s your name?

February 9, 2013 16:57 | 1 Comment |

My brand new BMC

Yup, I treated myself to a new road bike. I bought my Cannondale way back in February 2010 so I’d started seriously thinking about a new bike in about the middle of last year. But the intention wasn’t to actually go out and get one until at the end of 2013 (there are a few other things that need to be paid for first, namely a wedding!). But fate intervened and during a web search I found Bartholomew. I thought it was just wishful thinking until I saw the price. And then it became a reality. (And yes, all my bikes have names.)

Soooo…

He’s a 2012 BMC teammachine SLR01 50cm frame with Ultegra Di2. And once again, I’ve been made to eat my words after saying I couldn’t see the point of electronic shifting for a cyclist like me – a pure recreational rider who will never race. I can certainly see it now! It’s just brilliant. It’s incredibly quiet (unless you decided to suddenly change gears going up a hill) and I often find myself wondering if I’ve actually changed gear.

The experience of riding isn’t profoundly different from my Cannondale. There’s definitely a lot more stiffness to the bike but the agility feels about the same. However, the feel of the bike might be because I had my Eastons put on the new bike so I’m riding around on wheels that I’m already very familiar with (and they were better then the Fulcrum 5s that came with it – the only disappointment when it came to the bike). I’ve also gone from 40cm rounded on top bars to 38cm flat on top ones. Not sure about that. They do feel a little too narrow for me but I’m hoping to get a proper bike fit done soon so we’ll see what the outcome is from that.

Still, it’s awesome to get about on it. It’s new and shiny. I think we’re going to be very happy together.

My new BMC

My new BMC

My new BMC

My new BMC

My new BMC

Posted in: Bike | Tagged: ,

2012 in 40 questions

December 31, 2012 13:14 | Leave a Comment |

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
Was in the velodrome at Roubaix on Sunday 8th of April for the finish of Paris – Roubaix road race. It was amazing to be there and hear the crowd screaming as Tom Boonen got closer and closer and then finally appeared. It’s something I will never forget.

2. Did you keep your new year resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I usually fail to see the point of new year resolutions so therefore don’t make them. But this time I’ve decided it’s about time I did something the about 2.5kg I’ve put on in the last few months. Not sure if that’s really a new year resolution though, I would’ve done something about it regardless of what time of year it was, eventually.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Two friends did recently – within a few days of each other but thousands of kilometres apart. One in America, one right here in Melbourne

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope.

5. What countries did you visit?
America, France and Hong Kong.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
Umm… fewer injuries would be nice. I could’ve really done without dislocating my thumb at the start of the year. And seriously aggravating my back again really wasn’t fun.

7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
April 11. Getting engaged whilst wandering around the Luxembourg Gardens, 6th Arrondissement of Paris does tend to stick in the memory.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Riding up Falls Creek. Okay, it was only from Mt Beauty so a total of 30kms while I had friends who rode the whole way from Bright (which means riding up Towonga Gap twice). But I figured 30kms of climbing was enough for me. Also completing Amy’s Grand Fondo was a biggie too.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I must admit that I’m disappointed in how lazy I’ve become. Being lazy means I’ve put weight back on and I worked so hard to get rid off it in the first place. Feel like I’ve let myself down a bit with that.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Dislocated my thumb. Really freaken hurt and I recommend not doing it.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Jayne – my CX bike. Makes commuting so much easier knowing I can come to a really rapid halt when I need to. Love those disc brakes.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Julia Gillard. Sure, she’s got a really annoying voice and I wish she’d quit it with the Botox (move your eyebrows Julia!!) but to hear her take Abbot to task when he tried to lecture her on sexist behaviour (!!!) and misogyny was awesome. Julia in full flight is impressive – she should get angry more often.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
The majority of Australian politicians have been behaving like spoilt children who’ve had their favourite toy taken away. Really, if I hear Abbot bitching about how Gillard and the Labor Party is ruining this country, I’ll scream.

14. Where did most of your money go?
On Rapha cycling gear. Goodness, I spent a lot with them this year. I also bought a new bike. And I discovered the joys of ModCloth. However, I have managed to nearly pay off my credit card and am still saving some money.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Taking long service leave and nicking off overseas for three and a half weeks. It was great to see some (but not enough) of my American friends. New York was pretty incredible and we really should’ve spent more time there but that’s just the way it happened. But then there was Paris. What a wonderful city. Sigh.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
Nothing springs to mind.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? about the same so pretty happy.
ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter 🙁
iii. richer or poorer? about the same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Not been quite so anti-social. And of course – sleep!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eat bad stuff! But I always say this. It never changes. I have a sweet tooth. I understand that if I want to eat all the yummy stuff that I apparently do, there must be a good deal more exercise going on.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Bit late putting this up so Christmas has already passed. Spent it in Shepparton with my parents.

22. Did you fall in love in 2012?
Can’t do that if you already are 😉

23. How many one-night stands?
None.

24. What was your favourite TV programme?
Doctor Who, Castle, Rake, Supernatural.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope.

26. What was the best book you read?
Loved, loved, LOVED the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries series by Kerry Greenwood. Bought all of them for my Kindle. Also got stuck into the Song of Ice and Fire series after watching the first season of Game of Thrones.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Umm… there wasn’t one. Stuck with what I know.

28. What did you want and get?
Well, I did treat myself to a new bike.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
The Dark Knight Rises. I’m sure you’re all shocked by this. The Avengers was pretty good too.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Ran away to Freycinet Lodge in Freycinet National Park, just near Coles Bay in Tasmania. We overnighted in Hobart on our way back so there was a trip to MONA as well. I turned 40 (which should explain the running away to Tassie.)

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Umm… not much. I achieved plenty on the bike so there’s something to be proud of there. But more than that, I actually feel like I have control over my life for once. I don’t feel like I’m bouncing from one disaster to the next which I did for such a long time. I feel so much calmer than I used to.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
The same as always but dresses have snuck in this year. What can I say? I discovered ModCloth.

34. What kept you sane?
Same as last year – my bike. At least it didn’t try to kill me this year.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Meh…

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
It’s been a pretty crappy year in Australian politics. As I said above, the majority have been behaving like a bunch of over-sugared spoilt children. Perhaps next year they’ll grow up and some civility will return.

37. Who did you miss?
I miss my American peeps. I write this every year but that’s because it’s always true. I do miss them.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Is it terrible that no one is springing to mind? Or does that make me really anti-social?

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012
Sometimes you take the twisty, long route to get where you’re going.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Can’t think of anything!

Posted in: Blatherings | Tagged: ,

It’s that time of year

December 21, 2012 17:35 | Leave a Comment |

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family. I think it’s well known that I’m not a huge fan of xmas. To me it seems to to be all about selling crap we don’t need. But I guess there is another message to it – spending time with the people who love us for who we truly are (and sometimes in spite of it). Well, that’s one thing I try really hard to remember.

So without any more blathering, it’s time for my usual xmas song post: Tim Minchin, White Wine in the Sun.

Posted in: Blatherings | Tagged: ,

Amy’s Grand Fondo

September 24, 2012 22:15 | Leave a Comment |

I know, I know – the Fondo was ages ago (16th September). So why I am only blogging about it now? Got up the Monday morning after the ride, feeling a bit stiff and sore but generally okay until I lent over to pick up my lip balm and blam! Instant back pain. Really intense, haven’t-experienced-it-in-years back pain.

Sigh.

Commence the week off work where I spent four days either lying in bed or lying on the couch (only four because I’d already arranged to have the Monday off). The only time I really went anywhere was to go to the physio. I just find it ironic that I made it through an entire 120km ride feeling reasonably okay – my back was hurting a bit on the first, much more difficult climb – but lean over to pick up a tube of lip balm…

Anyhoo… Amy’s Grand Fondo.

It was great! I originally set myself what I thought was the realistic challenge of completing the ride in five and a half hours. So imagine how happy I was when I finished in under 5hrs (4hr 57mins according to my Garmin). My official ride time was 5hr 36mins but this incorporated all the stops we made including one really long stop at Deans Marsh which was much longer than we intended as the cafe took forever to actually make my fiance’s very uncomplicated espresso.

My overall placing was 3110 (out of how many riders I have no clue) and I was 68th out of 88 riders in my age group (female 40 – 44). I was hoping for a top 25% finish but soon realised that was going to be impossible as I saw or passed very few women in my category which meant they were probably all in the faster groups in front of me. And they were. Still, I didn’t come last in my age group (wasn’t even close to that) so that’s something.

The climb up Skenes Creek was hard – harder than I thought it would be. My back was really talking to me about two-thirds of the way up so I pulled over to have a stretch and admire the view which was stunning. Got a few odd looks because I’d stopped but it was worth it to take in the sight of forest turning into farm land turning into ocean. I managed to get to the top in 47 minutes which is pretty decent for someone who isn’t a great climber. I actually managed to overtake a few people but I have to admit I felt the strongest once we got go into the flat bit between Forest and Deans Marsh. Had to be told to dial it back a bit otherwise I was going to exhaust myself before we even got to the Deans Marsh climb.

This was such different experience from the last time I rode the Great Ocean Road. For one thing I remembered Deans Marsh being a way harder climb than it actually was. Maybe that’s just because I knew what to expect but I really did remember there being a lot more up and a lot less respite. But I suppose this time around I was much better prepared and all those boulie laps paid off 😉

One thing that didn’t go to the plan was the wardrobe malfunction I experienced just as we started. I finally bought myself a pair of Assos bib knicks after swearing vehemently that I never would (waste of money was my usual comment – I have been persuaded otherwise now) and they have a centre strap that runs down your chest and hooks through a little holder at the top of the shorts. I’d be warned that sometimes they become unhooked and that I might like to sew a stitch or two to make the gap narrower but I didn’t have a problem on my first ride with the shorts. Weeeelll… I wasn’t so fortunate this time. We’d just rolled under the start arch and were heading for the timing start line when I felt the strap pop loose. So over to the side of the road I went where I spent a couple of minutes rearranging my clothing. At least it was before the official timing start but we lost contact with the fast riders in our start group and couldn’t catch up. Not that it really mattered as we got overtaken by a whole bunch of other riders from the group behind us.

Riding on closed roads was sensational, especially on a frankly scary road like the Great Ocean Road. I’ve only experienced it once before and that was on open roads and I was pretty much terrified the whole time. But this was great. No cars, no worrying about oncoming traffic because there was none. It made overtaking about a million times easier because there was so much space. I especially enjoyed it on the descents.

Speaking of descents I didn’t find any of them particularly dangerous although the organisers disagreed with me and had put signs out. However, there was one accident that I know of that required an ambulance so maybe I’m wrong about that. I imagine it’s hard for inexperienced riders to not get caught up in the excitement of an event like this which could lead to them taking risks that normally wouldn’t and definitely shouldn’t. Ending up in the back of an ambulance is a pretty stiff price to pay for a misjudgement. I like to descend fast and sometimes I do overstretch myself but I’ve always managed to get things under control when they do go bad. But I have to say I’ve worked pretty hard to get my skills up so that I feel confident on my bike. (I also have my former rally driver Dad to thank for some intensive lessons in the art of cornering when I was learning to drive all those years ago and couldn’t corner properly to save myself. Funny what really sticks in your head.)

It was fun and I’ll definitely be doing it again. Hopefully the next time without the back injury the next day!

Posted in: Bike | Tagged: , , , ,

Introducing…

August 23, 2012 17:52 | 5 Comments |

Jayne!

CBoardman cyclocross bike

As in Jayne Cobb, which will mean something to Firefly fans.

Jayne: Well, as a rule, I say, girlfolk ain’t to be trusted.
River: [grinning] “Jayne” is a girl’s name.
Jayne: Well, Jayne ain’t a girl! She starts in on that girl’s-name thing, [reaches into his pants] I’ll show her good ‘n’ all, I got man parts!
Simon: I’m… trying to think of a way for you to be cruder. I just… it’s not coming.
(Trash, episode 11 Firefly.)

Ah, Jayne. Probably one of my favourite Joss Whendon characters ever. I was riding to work thinking about names and all of sudden The Hero of Canton popped into my head and the name has just stuck. I think it’s appropriate. The bike is big, burly and carries the heavy stuff.

The MTB pedals and bottle cages went on last night, the pannier rack was added last week. I have some nice bright red Ortlieb bags to go the rack but I couldn’t be bothered to put them on for the photo (you’ll just have to use your imagination). The MTB cletes/pedals are interesting to say the least. I’m perplexed by the decision to tension the pedals so much. I couldn’t actually clip in at all at first. Even after winding them out as much as possible, it still taking a huge amount of force for me to actually clip in. It’s like having to learn how to use cletes all over again. But I shall persist as they’re about a billion times easier to walk around in. So yes, Jayne. Once I said it in my head the name just stuck.

The name is why I’ve had this stuck in my head for the last few days…

(If you haven’t ever watched Firefly, I strongly recommend it. Brilliant show that should’ve never been cancelled. Stupid TV network!)

Posted in: Bike | Tagged: , ,

Ooohh… shiny!

August 14, 2012 15:35 | Leave a Comment |

Perhaps a story best told with photos, so, uh… pic spam warning!

Boxes of wiggle goodness
Boxes full of Wiggle goodness.

They be wheels
As if those reflectors stayed on… And yes, that’s a 11/32 cassette!

Frame emerging from the packaging
It emerges! Eventually… after I worked out how to get it out of all the packaging.

Crappest pedals ever
No. Just… no!

Nearly completed bike, only missing pedals
Tis almost done. Except for the pedals which are kinda important.

Now with pedals
Now with pedals!! And you can see a sad looking Lisa in the background minus her pedals *sniff*

Maiden voyage complete
Maiden voyage complete. All locked up in the bike cage at work. (I know, I know – most cable locks are just a visual deterrent but if someone wanted to steal it they’d have to work out how to break into the cage first and deal with the security camera. And there are bikes with thinner cable locks then mine anyway.)

Garmin edge 200 on bike
Yup, that’s Garmin Edge 200. Totally unnecessary for a bike that’s going to spend most of its time being a commuter but it’s my money that I’m squandering.

Flooded bike path
And what do I do with my bright and shiny bike? Ride it through about a foot of water on a flooded bike path after totally ignoring the “Path Closed” gate that had been half dragged across. And my, didn’t the brakes sing after that!

The bike is in the shop right now having a pannier rack fitted and the brakes tuned. On my first commute home, the rear brake was rubbing so much that it made the entire bike shake. Which scared the crap out of me. This is my first experience of disc brakes so I have no clue how to tune them properly (not that I really know how to do it with caliper brakes either). I expected a little squeaking as they bedded in but not rubbing as badly as they have been. Figure it’s a job for a bike mechanic, someone who really knows what they’re doing.

I’ve already bought a pair of MTB shoes and my MTB/flat pedals, bottle cages and pannier bags should turn up this week. And then I’ll be done. Turned out to be a rather expensive birthday present to myself.

Getting on my Cannondale is an experience now. This bike comes in a hefty 10kg (22lbs) when my roadie is a smidge over 7kg (about 16lbs). If nothing else I’m going to get a lot stronger pushing this bike around. My roadie felt insanely light when I hopped on her on Sunday and this morning riding up the hill on Barkly St seemed so much easier than normal. The Boardman also has SRAM double-tap gearing when I’ve only had Shimano in the past. Took me awhile to get my head around that one!

Still, I think the Boardman (doesn’t have a name yet!) and I are going to get along just fine.

Posted in: Bike | Tagged: ,