I've worn through my first pair of Look cleats.  I was not having any issues with the worn cleats but figured I'd replace them before beginning to have issues.  Fortunately I had a spare pair on the shelf, thanks to a Christmas gift from mom and dad a couple years ago.

The new 3 cleat system.

The first ride of the year on the Litespeed had me feeling like I was pedaling with my toes.  I'm guessing it's from riding an indoor exercise bike so much over the winter, so I've shifted my pedals rear ward a touch. Actually they are shifted rear ward as far as possible with these shoes.

The wear dots on the old cleats were about gone.

Yesterday Ryan and I went for a ride around the block.  The thermo told us it was in the upper 30's and we dressed warm as we intended to ride a mild pace. 

 Washed out on Carr Road.

We rode north on Carr Road from Ryan's house and felt the 10 to 15mph wind directly in our face on the way out.  After a right hand turn we rode east to the county line and turned south.  Eventually we returned to Carr Road and enjoyed a tail wind on the way back to Apple Creek.

 Washed out on Deerfield Road.

It felt good to be out for a couple hours!

Windy on the way to Flickinger

I came home from work and headed out for short ride, destination Flickinger Hill.  I knew it was windy... but it was really windy.  Headwind all the way to Flickinger, climb the hill, then cross winds, and finally some tailwind on the way back.  It felt like more of a ride than what it was.

 The flags are proof, it was windy.

First Paragon Ride

What a perfect day for a mountain bike ride at Mohican State Park.  The weather was very nice for a mid March day, it was 45 and sunny, and the trail was in great condition.  The water of the past couple weeks had drained away and left behind a grippy runway.

 Two Gary Fisher 29ers ready to roll.

It was mid afternoon when Ryan and I pulled into the parking lot.  I unloaded my new Paragon from Ryan's  trunk rack, ready for the first ride on my 29er.

About half a mile into the ride we stopped and I shed a layer.  The warmth of the sun through the leafless trees felt good.  In the opening, mostly uphill, section of the trail I was feeling benefit from the larger wheels.  The bike was rolling over roots with more ease than my previous 26" wheeled GF Wahoo.  I figure the plusher front fork on the Paragon also contributed to the better feel.

 Nothing like the first ride on a new bike.

As we continued through first five miles I was really liking several aspects of the new bike.  The hydraulic brakes are much better than on my Wahoo.  The new stoppers provided a solid feel with an ability to modulate braking force.  The larger front rotor and 29" tire patch certainly contributed to better braking as well.  I also noticed gear changes were less drastic than on my previous bike.  The Wahoo was 8 speed while the Paragon is 10 speed, and I could feel the smaller change in gear ratio between shifts on the Paragon.

 Ryan enjoying the warm sunshine.

At mile 8 we turned around to retrace our route.  Somewhere along the ride back I was noticing traction benefits with the Paragon.  I was happy with my tire choice and I think the new tires were certainly contributing to the traction combined with the larger contact patch of the 29" wheels.  On an uphill corner I stood up to pedal as I turned sharply.  On this same corner I often lost traction and had to put a foot down while riding the Wahoo.  On the Paragon I stood, felt a tiny amount of rear wheel slip, but then it connected up and pushed me through the corner.  Nice.

 Hey, my support vehicle showed up.

I'm sure there are plenty more things to discover about the new bike.  In spite of a dream the night before where I didn't notice a difference between the Wahoo and Paragon, there's a big difference.  And I like it.

Another New Ride

No, I didn't get another new bike... but we did go to the zoo today.

Giddy up.

Jellyfish tank.

Wet Left Foot

Despite the gloomy and overcast weather I gathered up some ambition and headed out for a ride.  It was breezy and cool with temperatures in the upper 30’s as I rolled out.  With camera in my pocket I was hoping to come across some picture worthy scenes.  I was in luck.

Doing my best to keep the wind in my face for the first half of the ride I rode west on Angling Road.  I stopped near the base of a cell tower looming over US30 and thought the perspective of the tower and guy wires looked interesting.  Picture #1 acquired.

A short distance later I turned north on Firestone Road and came across a pothole collection that caught my eye.  Picture #2 acquired.

An even short distance later, still on Firestone Road, I saw something familiar alongside the road.  I squeezed hard on the brake levers and pulled a u-turn.  It was a cell phone along the edge of the road and looked like it had been there for a while.  The phone was waterlogged and looked like it had been through a few freeze / thaw cycles.  Picture #3 acquired.

After a few jig jogs I pedaled west out of Reedsburg and turned south on Funk Road.  I wondered if this low lying section of road would be open after all the recent flooding.  The road was open but there were many fresh ponds throughout the valley.  Glancing over my shoulder at one such pond I spotted several large birds blending in with the scenery.  I thought they were blue herons at first but later realized they were sand hill cranes.  The quality of the digital zoom on the camera surprised me.  Picture #4 acquired.

A short time later I was back to Angling Road.  The “road closed” signs were up for Angling Road east of Funk but I thought it may be passable on bike so I turned left.  Water was across the road at the road’s lowest point, yep that’s the way water works.  There was a current moving left to right across the road but I decided it was worth the risk to pedal across slowly.  Before crossing I pulled the camera out, took a picture, and securely sealed in a ziploc bag in case of a splashdown.  Picture #5 acquired.

Crossing the water was mostly okay except it was deep enough in the middle that I was dunking my left foot with each pedal revolution.  I had unclipped my right foot and held it up in the air when I realized the water was getting deep.  Thank God for Thorlo socks, they kept my feet warm the rest of the ride home despite the left one being water logged.

To get back home I took Uhl Road to connect Jefferson to Smyser.  Upon turning north onto Uhl I encountered an even better photo op of a ruinous pothole.  Photo #6 acquired.

There’s nothing like a wandering, picture filled bike ride to help forget your body and mind’s confusion over setting the clocks forward an hour!

New Horse in the Stable

Here it is, my new 2011 Trek / Gary Fisher Paragon!

25.1 pounds out of the box.

Given the flooding and generally wet conditions of late, it may be a little while before I take her out on the maiden voyage.  But that's okay, I have a project or two in mind before hitting the trail.  More to come later...