After several weeks of restricted activity with my broken collarbone - no kitesurfing and only short cycle trips - I am very pleased to do my first longer ride on my new cyclocross bike.
The hook plate was removed from my shoulder on 26/8 and I already have better movement of my right shoulder. The wound still healing but is not too painful now.
I fitted some slicks to my new Giant cyclocross bike and rode down to Beaumaris, then back along the Bay Trail. Its nice not having to worry about cars coming up behind, but the pace is gentler. Some sections of the Bay Trail have a lot of pedestrians so its necessary to slow right down at times.
At St Kilda the trail morphs into a shared boardwalk, which was very crowded and not good for cycling at all.
I stopped briefly at The Zu Boardsports, then continued on to Port Melbourne and back along the Sandridge Rail Trail.
I had a great coffee and waffle at Waffle On in the CBD then continued home along the Gardiners Creek Trail.
The cyclocross is great to ride. The wider tyres with lower pressure (7 bar) give a more comfortable ride, along with the carbon frame and wheels. The disc brakes provide excellent stopping power. The bike handling is noticeably differently from a road bike though - its hard to put my finger on the difference but the turning is different. The SRAM Red 22 gearing is very nice to use but it takes a little while to get the hang of the "double tap" changing.
The hook plate was removed from my shoulder on 26/8 and I already have better movement of my right shoulder. The wound still healing but is not too painful now.
I fitted some slicks to my new Giant cyclocross bike and rode down to Beaumaris, then back along the Bay Trail. Its nice not having to worry about cars coming up behind, but the pace is gentler. Some sections of the Bay Trail have a lot of pedestrians so its necessary to slow right down at times.
At St Kilda the trail morphs into a shared boardwalk, which was very crowded and not good for cycling at all.
I stopped briefly at The Zu Boardsports, then continued on to Port Melbourne and back along the Sandridge Rail Trail.
I had a great coffee and waffle at Waffle On in the CBD then continued home along the Gardiners Creek Trail.
The cyclocross is great to ride. The wider tyres with lower pressure (7 bar) give a more comfortable ride, along with the carbon frame and wheels. The disc brakes provide excellent stopping power. The bike handling is noticeably differently from a road bike though - its hard to put my finger on the difference but the turning is different. The SRAM Red 22 gearing is very nice to use but it takes a little while to get the hang of the "double tap" changing.
