Saturday, October 25, 2008

Ch ch changes

Before:

After:
"She needs wide open spaces" - Some country song that I amazingly listened to b/c it didn't force me to claw my ears off.

Sorry for the hiatus and for not blogging the past two days - Bad mandy! Things are in overdrive here in mandyland - setting the schedule for next year's events and a bunch of other top secret projects that I'll fill you all in on soon! Also, in high gear for Ironman Florida - A WEEK FROM TODAY! ACK!

I love my Cannondale Slice - it's comfortable, responsive and even when crashed at 35mph, it didn't break - I think the R&D mountain guys must have had a hand in designing it! The bike is a 51cm frame. I've never ridden a 51, because, well, I'm barely 5'1". My old bikes were both 48cm - just right. Well, until I start winning Ironmans, I don't think I'll be getting a slice that's any smaller. So over the past season, there's been a lot of tweaking going on to get my perfect fit.

For Placid, I wanted to be aero, but able to be in a strong power, climbing position. For Hawaii I was working from a power position as well - I wanted to feel secure and safe in those winds. For Florida, I want to be as low as possible.

Starting out I had about 4 inches of drop. It's hard for me to get much more b/c I'm not taller and well, they don't make stems with more than 20 degree angles to them.

So, while no huge, earthshattering changes, I did swap out stems - a sad moment when I realized I wouldn't have the first 3 of my 5 Ironman bike stickers to look at anymore - and I moved my seat forward a bit. It feels good, it feels fast and I'm ready to crush it.

Anyone free to go to Florida next week? I have a fully paid trip, but need someone to go as support crew. Beaches, beaches and more beaches!

1 comment:

Ski Dad said...

Having a bike that does not break during a crash is VERY important. I know first hand after my own crash, I jumped up and checked the bike! Then after assuring myself it was OK I checked myself to see the extend of the broken collarbone lol