End of the Year

Wow, it's hard to believe that my Freshman year of college is almost over. It has gone really, really fast. In the time that I've been away from the blog, LOTS has gone on. I competed in the Tour of Hermann Time Trial race in Hermann, MO two weeks ago. I really didn't do very well....but I had a blast anyway! Also, I competed in the Westminster College triathlon last weekend, taking third among students. It was my first triathlon, and a short one at that. Classified as a "sprint" triathlon, it was a 300m swim, 15 mile bike and a 5k run. I finished with a time of 84:39.
The next event scheduled for me, as far as cycling goes, is the Pedaler's Jamboree, a two-day, one-night music festival. I'll ride about 70 miles over two days from Columbia to Booneville, MO and back. I went for the first time last year and it really was a blast. But before that gets underway I'll be on a class trip from May 10-27, touring the national parks of the Southwest U.S. We're starting in Texas and hitting New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado before returning to Missouri. It should be a great time.

Happy cycling!

Spring training

My first race of the 2010 season is this Saturday, and I'm not quite ready yet. I've been on the bike for the last 3-4 weeks pretty solid, and I'm definitely becoming comfortable again. This race is a short time trial (11 Miles) in Hermann, Missouri. It is part of the Tour of Hermann Omnium Race. I figured that this would be a good warm-up/workout for my first Triathlon, which is the following Saturday.
Also, I got a chance to check out the new Trek Madone, Fuel FX, and the new Gary Fisher full-carbon Road Line at a Trek Factory Demo yesterday. The new Fishers were gorgeous indeed, but not as frilly as the new Madone. Although I don't think I'd complain about having either!

Spring! New trail bike for Allison.

So this past week was spring break, Allison decided she was going to finally take the plunge and buy herself a proper mountain bike. After much consideration and many trips to various bike shops she decided to purchase an '09 model Kona Blast. On first inspection I was quite impressed with the specs on this sub-$1000 bike. It has a full aluminum frame, Shimano Deore components, FSA Crankset, a RockShox Dart 2 front suspension (much better than the SR-Suntour trash that most comparable Treks come with) and Disc Brakes. Shifting was clean and sharp, easily reached from the default handle position. The brake levers are full rough aluminum, which is easy to grip with wet hands and feels quite durable.