Tri Bike Adventures

Last April, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased a triathlon specific bike.  Not the fanciest bike, but one from a smaller brand with a quality reputation, and to be perfectly honest, a great deal.  I had been looking at a triathlon specific bike since I started triathlon some three years before, and while I've been happy with my roadie, it was great to get something a little lighter, and a bit more aerodynamic.
After a fitting at the LBS to make sure that everything was dialed in correctly, I was ready to go.  The funny part about getting the tri bike however was that I didn't have any triathlons planned until September and October.  At least I figured that would give me plenty of time to get accustomed to riding it.  Throughout the first part of the summer however, I remained on my roadie most of the time.  I had a century ride planned for late June and given the mountainous course, I figured a traditional road bike would be much better suited to the event.  Once that was over however, I started getting out on the tri bike a bit more, and although I've only notched a half  dozen rides on it,  I'm starting to get more comfortable.  With a triathlon now only a couple of weeks away, I will use it almost exclusively during my next handful of rides. 
The best place for these rides is out at the test track and in the last few weeks I've had two particularly good rides out there. The test track road isn't the most scenic of venues, but given that it is almost completely empty of cars, and the first seven miles have been recently paved, there aren't many routes that can compare.  A few evening back, when pressed for time, I went out for a "time trial" of 20 miles.  I kept the hammer down on the 10 miles out and back and finished in a little over 54 minutes.  It was the highest average speed I've managed on a bike over that distance and I felt surprisingly strong and comfortable on the bike.

Results from my 20 mile "Time Trial" out at the test track

 This past Saturday, I was able to get out in the morning and do a slightly longer ride of 34 miles.  With the triathlon approaching,  I didn't push the pace quite as hard this time because I wanted to practice saving a little energy for the run phase.  On the ride out I felt very good and though some of the steeper rises out there still cut into my pace, I managed to recover from them fairly quickly and maintain some momentum.  After I reached the turnaround and was a few miles back down the road,  something just "clicked" as I rode.  It seemed like my legs found another gear and I  settled into a "zone" where I pedaled smoothly and easily.  As I hit a few of the hills and inclines, I was able to keep my pace a little longer and make it a bit further up the hill.  It may not have been effortless, but it was definitely different.  It's something that I've experienced before when running, but not while cycling.

Last weekends longer ride of 34 miles.

Maybe that feeling won't return again, but I'm excited to see how things go in Boulder in a couple of weeks.  It will actually be my first triathlon this year, and the very first on my tri bike.  Look for a plan and then a race report to follow.