I say just give in to the lust!

[BillCobit]

"I say just give in to the lust!"*

That's exactly the reply I got from another VR.com member (who shall remain unidentified) when I confessed my struggle with desire for a new ride via private message.

I fought it off earlier this year, and then once I got into high-volume training, decided it was not a good idea to do 100-milers on an unfamiliar bike. So I remained faithful for a while, but my "A" race for the year (Lake Placid) is over, and I no longer feel a need for an exclusive relationship with the old nag. I have succumbed to one that is younger, prettier and not quite so heavy.

I have to admit that I have fancied myself blazing along on a proper tri bike, but I don't have the engine or the lower back for that sort of thing. So I got the old man's comfort bike with the triple ring crank. But it's sweet, and has a nice carbon fibre frame. Can't wait to try it out in an Oly-distance race in a couple of weeks.

Feels good to give in!

*Decided to use that thread title to see how fast the view counter incremented.

 

[hensylee]

Congratulations, Bill. It's a beauty. Glad you gave in to the 'lust'. Now what are you going to lust for? I have, from time to time, really wanted something but when someone found out and gave it to me or I succumbed to the 'lust', I found I had to replace it with something else so I would have something in mind that I 'always wanted'. That's weird, huh?

Enjoy your new buddy.

 

[kodi]

What a sweet looking ride. What's the brand and what kind of components does it have? I could use a new one also. Mine is an ancient Puegot and about 24 years old. I've upgraded it a few times but now it's to the point that upgrades are next to impossible. If my chain breaks I'll be in deep do-do and the rear clusters just don't work well for this old body of mine and the continuous hills where I live. BTW, did you get speedplay pedals? I'd really like to go that route. Any of my friends that have them, love them.
Where's the Oly-race you're doing? I'm not real familiar with Oly-bike distances so at the risk of sounding uneducated, what's the distance.
At any rate good luck with the new bike and the upcoming race.

 

[WayneGM]

Congratulations on the new ride! Not exactly a "V-Twin", but sweet none the less.

 

[maka]

have succumbed to one that is younger, prettier and not quite so heavy.

Oh Gosh...another one with a mid-life crisis

 

[BillCobit]

Kodi - it's a Trek Pilot 5.0 (http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike...id=1408000&f=4) Modern bikes are simply amazing. You can get just about whatever you need for your purpose and capabilty. Have you done any test rides on other bikes? There is a lot to choose from if you decide to ditch your Puegot. This is not a bad time of year to shop. It's the end of the bike model year and prices reflect that, but there is still a lot to choose from if you don't mind shopping a bit. Slim pickings in a few months, though, unless you get a 2008.

Ann - I am old enough to know that the best things in life aren't things. I generally don't indulge much in material stuff (for a Yank, anyway). Looming retirement (I hope) and college-age kids help keep my perspective .

Wayne and Maka, you guys are spot on. My cycling / triathlon problem is a full-blown lifestyle disorder with mid-life crisis roots. The good thing about this approach is that it's far cheaper than other crisis variants, doesn't involve attorneys, and my wife does it with me!

 

[Ross]

Bill you know anything in the title that suggests anything of a sexual nature will drag VR'ers like fire flies.

Excellent choice! I hope the new nag does everything you want and more.

 

[67walkon]

Sweet ride!

I lusted last summer and ended up with a Specialized Roubaix; after a minor frame issue, they upgraded my frame from a Comp to a Pro. The carbon and the slightly relaxed geometry is a dream. The upgraded frame, at retail, cost more than my Comp Triple with all the components on it, so I was pretty pleased with the service. Someday I'll upgrade the Shimano 105 set to Ultegra or Dura Ace, but not until it starts giving me trouble.

The Pilot was the other bike I was looking at. The prices were similar and the components were similar. The LBS that carries Trek just didn't treat me as well as the one that carried Specialized, so it was a LBS issue, not a brand issue.

Now for the real question--I've been off the bike since my OHS on July 6. I've been walking a lot, but I don't plan on getting back on the until sometime between week 6 and week 8, depending on how my sternum feels. How long did it take you to start being able to push it again?

Thanks, John.

 

[MarkU]

Nice ride, Bill.

Hope you enjoy it.

Mark

 

[LLJ]

Hey, you deserve it. Congrats to you and your wife on LP. Followed you guys on line and kept my fingers crossed when it came down to the run!
Hope everyone recovered
Laura

 

[BillCobit]

Hi John

I would say walking is the right thing to do at 4 weeks post op. Can you also pedal indoors? Crashing or falling is never good, but you certainly don't want to do it with an unhealed sternum. 6-8 weeks for outdoor riding sounds a little early to me. I started pedaling on the trainer at about 8 weeks, if I recall. First outdoor ride was at about 3 months (I had to wait for the snow and ice to go away). It took me about 7-8 months before I really started to feel right on the bike. I'm not sure how my experience might be different from yours because of aortic vs. mitral surgery. Maybe Laura and MarkU can recall and share experience as AV patients who are also cycling monsters. You may also want to search some threads by AdamT, Mntbiker, Arpy who also had AV work and are cyclists.

Hi Laura

Thanks for the congrats and remote spectating. Guess what? That stress fracture dx was all wrong. Second opinion declared it to be tendonitis that had already come and gone. My wife had NO problems with her foot on the run. Only difficulty was doing the marathon without having run for 6 weeks prior to the event. She was sooooo close to getting an unnecessary cast and DNSing the race.

I was happy with my swim, satisfied with my bike (pretty modest pace but kept my HR under control on those hills), but then faded badly on the marathon again BUT - finishing is NOT a given for me, and I did manage to stagger home before the cutoff, so it was a successful day.

 

[67walkon]

Bill, they're telling me that my sternum is about 65% healed now and should be close to 100% at 8 weeks. I keep revising my goals, partially from reading things here and partially because my energy levels aren't where I wish they were, but if I can get on a stationary at about 6 weeks, I am still hoping to be on the road by 8 weeks. But I'll see how I feel.

Right now, I don't really feel like going back to work, but I will.

John

 

[BDMc]

Sexy Ride

Sexy Ride

Bill, Very cool! Cycling is a great thing to be into! A little easier to store than my current favorite ride. (I don't know how to "insert picture) but it's a Hobie 17 catamaran. Brian

 

[AlonnolA]

Congrats on your new bike John.

What did you do with the old nag?

My surgeon told me I was fully healed at 8 or 9 weeks, and I started doing a stationary bike after that. I was on the road sometime in January (yea it was cold, but I really wanted to ride again).

 

[Philip B]

Size Matters

Size Matters

Geez...

I didn't realize so many folks were interested in cycling; just look at the number of views you've had on this post!

I test drove a Trek Pilot 5.0 a couple of weeks ago. It was a great ride, but I ended up with a sexy little Specialized Roubaix. My body fit was better with the Roubaix. It's probably something to do with that size matters stuff.

Congrats on the new ride. Put some miles on her.

-Philip

 

[67walkon]

Philip, I love my Roubaix. It just looks so pretty, but so lonely, standing there in the garage.

I've had it for a year, and it was my first bike with clipless pedals, and I've never fallen. However, now I'm a little nervous about falling because of my sternum.

Next week, the stationary bike at the gym! After 8 weeks, if everything feels okay, I hope to be back on the road, although I might ride my old hybrid for a bit, until I feel a little more secure about my sternum.

I really miss it!

John

 

[Philip B]

Nervous?

Nervous?

Hi John,

You'll be back on that sexy little Roubaix before you know it.

I did a lot of work on a stationary bike when I was going to rehab. It took about six seeks for my sternum to get to the point where I could ride my old suspensionless KHS mountain bike on pavement. As the summer progressed and I took the KHS out on rougher rides, it became obvious that I needed something with suspension so I picked up a Rocky Mountain Element 10.

My return to road biking happened a few weeks ago when I visited a large, Denver area bike shop and picked-up a good closeout deal. My wife encouraged me to get a road bike because having me on paved areas seems safer to her. When I mountain bike she always insists that I tell her exactly where I'm going so she'll, "know where to tell someone to find my body." Yeah, that's a little dark, but she worries about me.

The road bike I really miss is the late seventies era Atala that I built while I was in college. The nostalgia of a sexy little Italian racing frame with Campy record components is hard to beat.

The new carbon frame and fork technology is pretty cool. I just returned from a fifteen mile evening ride on the Roubaix. It's a great ride. The carbon fork absorbs a lot of the bumps.

It's good that you're thinking about sternum issues. I had AVR surgery in late March and my sternum still get alittle sore at times. My over the handlebars crash on the Element 10 last Sunday left my sternum kinda tender.

-Philip

 

[BillCobit]

Can't wait to try it out in an Oly-distance race in a couple of weeks.

Well, it wasn't a PR bike split, but close. Although I don't yet have my aerobars on (hardware issues), and I used the stock 25mm 100lb tires instead of my 20mm 160lb rough riders, I don't think there's much performance to be gained because of the bike alone. But it's REALLY comfy smooth!