Shake down

160kms, 3 days, 1 great bike.

That’s what I’m learning about the Volae. It’s just a great bike. One very noticeable advantage is when riding into a headwind. Yesterday on my way home, it was hot and I had a headwind of about 30km/h. I was amazed that I was still able to maintain a decent clip. It was as if I didn’t even feel the affect of the wind. Of course it does make a difference, but it’s not near as big of a deal as it is when you’re riding an upright bike.

On my setup, I actually think it’s going to work out fairly good for commuting. That cheapo insulated bottle holder from Canadian Tire I bought kept my Nalgene bottle cold through the 1 ½ hour ride home last night. When I got home, it was 31C in the shade. Kind of a nice to be able to keep your aqua cold. With those panniers, I am able to open them up and root around there while riding. I keep my camera in them and it’s no big deal to reach down and grab it. Same with the water bottle cage position. I can actually think of very little I don’t like about this setup right now, except the fact that it doesn’t look all that polished. Kind of home-jobbie. But, I’m usually going so fast, people don’t even get a chance to notice anyway. Ha, ha.

This morning I met up with Tyler and we rode in together. It's kind of nice having someone to talk with while you’re riding. We played around with drafting on the downhill. Tyler would get in the right position to me, and he could coast while I peddled, and stay exactly tucked in. He said it was almost like a vacuum, which I guess it sort of is. I was amazed when we were doing 50 km/hr and for about 1 minute he never pedaled at all, yet stayed right on my tail. Pretty cool.
I’m getting closer to dialing this bike in just right and the seat has so much adjustment, it takes a while to figure out where is just right for you. I think I need to lean it back a bit more. It felt as if there was too much weight on my butt. The pedal reach seems to be really good and my legs feel great during and after riding. A few more adjustments and this baby will be perfect.

My good wife and I are spending the weekend in Calgary (without the kids) to do some riding on the bike paths there, and have a mini-getaway. It’ll be fun to note the difference between an upright and the bent, how that I’ve had a bit of time on the Volae. We bought her a half decent Trek road bike last fall in Montana. She was quite pregnant at the time we bought it, and with the narrow country roads around Rockyford, we’re a little timid about putting the boys in the bike trailer. As a result, she’s gotten very few miles on it. Some nice easy riding, coffee shop to coffee shop, sleeping in and hitting some good restaurants is what’s on the agenda. Can’t wait.