Weight-loss Challenge Progress

Stage 1 - 4 kg down!


Sunday, April 27, 2008

Craving Carbon

Excuses - we all have them. Some of us have them all, but we all have some. I'm ready to get rid of my biggest (and heaviest) excuse (my bike) so that I can move on to bigger and faster excuses. The problem with getting a new bike - made from carbon not aluminium - is which one to get? I hear Specialised is all the craze, can dream of Pinarellos, Trek, Look, Cervelo but you are limited by your bank balance. Having never held a full-time job, mine is measly (excuse 673), but I'm working on it! After choosing the frame you have to consider groupset, the wheels and anything else you fancy, like the fashion! I've heard a rumour that Cannondale make pink frames, and the Orbea Diva is pretty swanky but do I need pink to go fast? I'm still convinced, unfortunately, that it's the engine that counts the most. Spending $12,000 on a bike doesn't guarantee you victory.

So, can you upgrade the engine? The problem with bike engines is that they are powered ultimately by the brain and there is terrible feedback from the legs to the brain - pain - attempting to switch off the motor. Apparently, you need mental toughness and the strength to suffer to race, because at the end of the day you aren't the only one suffering, just the first one to pop. This is my biggest downfall and something I hope my friends, the hills, will smash out of me soon.

Whilst the overall attitudes presented in the following blog don't totally concur with my own racing attitudes, I think BikeSnob NYC explains racing somewhat accurately in a
Pass/Fail system.

BTW according to BikeSnob I failed both races in Albany. Hence the carbon envy...

1 comment:

Davina Summers said...

I think you would look FAB in a specialized, although they do not come in pink...