New Wheels!!!!!

Finally! The day arrived when I was able to go out and buy a road bike. I can't tell if my old Fisher Marlin trail bike is jealous or not but I'm sure it will start getting a lot less use!

After a lot of looking and reading reviews on the internet, I went with an 2007 Specialized Roubaix. They gave me a GREAT deal at a bike shop about 45 minutes from my house and the staff there were really patient with me as I tried it and several other rides in the store. It is built to be comfortable for really long rides but is light and aggressive enough for triathlons as well. It is a 30 speed that is made of lightweight aluminum and has a complete carbon fork, carbon seat stays, and carbon seat post. The shop owner thought it would work fine to install aero bars down the road if I desire but I may not worry about it since I won't be doing any serious competion.

I already have two triathlons I know I want to compete in next year. One is the Rebel Man Sprint Triathlon in Oxford, Mississippi that is held in March or April of every year. The other is the larger DragonFly Tri in Sardis, Mississippi in June. There is another sprint tri in Tupelo in August but it is a new event so I have decided on that one yet. In 2008 I would like to tackle a longer olympic distance triathlon, possible the Memphis in May tri in Memphis.

But I am SOOOO excited! I went out on a 12.5 mile ride Saturday and had a blast! I took relatively the same route that I use for long runs and it was wild to cover the same ground in 53 minutes! I was a little sore in the thighs and butt but nothing real major. I may have some more adjusting to the seat to get just the right fit but I still averaged 14 mph without really pushing and I had a lot of gas in the tank when I quit.

So you may be hearing me talk more and more about biking and thinking about tri's -- that it -- once I am able to get through a marathon! :-)