29 inches of rigid steel love
So i've deliberated over getting a 29er for quite sometime now. Any how, with the loss of my 700c cross steed I felt a void in my life...that the other 5 bikes in my stable could not fill ;-( Anywho, I'd been trolling CL for cheap old road bikes(for my "City" bike fixed gear conversion) and cheap 29ers.
I did a scan last monday, got a hit on a 29er and by the end of the day I'd setup a date to check it out. Weds I rolled into Saratoga, test rode it, sized it up and said "aight I'll take it!" And that's how the love affair began.
Needless to say I was anxious to get it out on a ride. That day would be sunday. After quite a few drinks and stuff the night before, making the 9am ride time was a chore, to say the least, but with a bit of espresso and some toast I was ready to roll.
The plan was to ride from my house, across the bridge and into the Headlands. I'd done a loop out there before but was not entirely familiar with leading the ride alone. Fortuitously, Darren and I ran into OMD(mouse team mate) on the bridge. He knew a loop and so we followed.
I don't remembered exactly what we climbed but it was labor intensive. I found that turning the pedals was easy on the 29er, but my cardio was definitely feeling more taxed than when I ride my 26" singlespeed? I've got a 32/20 on the 29er and a 32/17 on the 26er. I'll have to crunch out some numbers to see if that makes sense. I tried thinking about it on the way back, but after 4 hrs of rigid single speed love I was too fatigued to think clearly about it.
As we rode back home we passed by Velo Rouge cafe on Arguello and decided that would be a perfect place to stop for a post ride meal and beer. They have awesome panini's with salad and they have Chimay! We sat outside, the sun was shinning and it was alllll good! What a way to finish a killer ride!
I did a scan last monday, got a hit on a 29er and by the end of the day I'd setup a date to check it out. Weds I rolled into Saratoga, test rode it, sized it up and said "aight I'll take it!" And that's how the love affair began.
Needless to say I was anxious to get it out on a ride. That day would be sunday. After quite a few drinks and stuff the night before, making the 9am ride time was a chore, to say the least, but with a bit of espresso and some toast I was ready to roll.
The plan was to ride from my house, across the bridge and into the Headlands. I'd done a loop out there before but was not entirely familiar with leading the ride alone. Fortuitously, Darren and I ran into OMD(mouse team mate) on the bridge. He knew a loop and so we followed.
I don't remembered exactly what we climbed but it was labor intensive. I found that turning the pedals was easy on the 29er, but my cardio was definitely feeling more taxed than when I ride my 26" singlespeed? I've got a 32/20 on the 29er and a 32/17 on the 26er. I'll have to crunch out some numbers to see if that makes sense. I tried thinking about it on the way back, but after 4 hrs of rigid single speed love I was too fatigued to think clearly about it.
As we rode back home we passed by Velo Rouge cafe on Arguello and decided that would be a perfect place to stop for a post ride meal and beer. They have awesome panini's with salad and they have Chimay! We sat outside, the sun was shinning and it was alllll good! What a way to finish a killer ride!
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