That was nice

17 miles on the bike with hubby and my MIL. My butt didn't even complain too much, which really surprised me. I'm still going to be happy to have a wider, firmer seat, but my stock one will work in a pinch or maybe someone along the way will like it. Always good to keep stuff like that around.

Our ride went better than I had expected. I was a little nervous about the shoes and pedals. It has been years since I used clipless pedals and that was only briefly before I became "with child." Plus my old SPD pedals were really low-end and never worked very well. They didn't engage well and were tough to adjust...hence one fall when I was completely stopped and couldn't get my shoes to unclip. Today I clipped and unclipped with no issue. Last night I adjusted the pedals to their loosest setting, but they still held my cleats well...just not TOO well.

Running has really made me aerobically fit, too. My quads are going to take time to strengthen (so the speed is not quite there, yet), but our 17 miles was probably 5-10 less than I would have been comfortable doing today. We were crunched for time and I have a 10 mile run on the agenda for tomorrow, so 17 was just right, considering. In 2 days DH and I are planning to ride again (weather forecast continues to look fabulous!), so then maybe we can do 20-25. As long as my butt doesn't complain too much I am game. My right foot was much happier today without my Superfeet insoles, so they were probably overkill in the arch support department.

This cycling thing is way too fun. It's nice to have some variety in my workouts. I don't see myself ever completely ditching running, though. There are few things more fun than racing to really test fitness and it's still a far more efficient workout than cycling in terms of the time requirement. And trail racing...I have no interest in mountain biking (trees come at ya' WAY too fast), but give me a run in the woods on a trail...ahhh...heaven. Plus it's something I can enjoy with my closest friends who don't enjoy cycling. It's a good excuse to get out of the house and then enjoy post run/race beers. Don't forget those trail relays that take all day and end with a smelly, dirty, happy team of 6 runners in a big SUV and nearly 80 miles logged on-foot. I wouldn't give that up for anything.

Today I got my new orange bar tape put on my bike. It looks just like that. My bike is truly garish, but no one could ever claim that they didn't see me, which is good from a safety standpoint. I tend to wear a lot of bright colors when I run, for the same reason. It kind of steams me that so many Winter running apparel items are navy or black, when they should be red, orange, yellow...the end of the spectrum that the human eye most readily detects and what our brains associate with things that require attention. There is good reason that fire engines and stop signs are red and school busses are yellow. It's both physiological and psychological.

In addition to the bar tape I had a Garmin candence/speed sensor installed and a mounting bracket. The cadence/speed sensor is the awesomest thing ever. It allows me to use my Garmin Forerunner 305 as effectively as a cycling tool as it has been for running since I first got it 2 years ago. It makes a cycling computer obsolete. It will track and display speed, distance, cadence, HR, maps, elevations profiles...way more than a typical cycling computer.

The shop ordered the wrong sort of bracket, but it's no biggie. The type they ordered requires that the pins and straps be removed from the Garmin. It would work well if I wanted to use the velcro straps for wearing on my wrist and the quick-release base, then I could pop it off to put on my bike. But velcro against my skin is icky. And the way that sucker would reek after a few sweaty runs would be even ickier. At right is the bike mount I will instead order. It essentially turns the handlebar into a wrist, so I can take my Garmin off and attach it to the handlebars using the traditional watch-band style clasp. This will be really nice during my duathlon next Summer. I can switch the Forerunner from my wrist, to the bike, and back to my wrist for the 3 portions of the race.