Big update today

The season is nearly in full swing and I've been really busy lately. I've been riding like a maniac compared to my riding level to get in shape for my first race. This season my first race is the Hell's Kitchen race in Hogeye, Arkansas. The race is TOMORROW!

The club group rides have started back up and the ride on Tuesday was a total blast. Everything started pretty tame at first, and going home we were going to have a tail wind all the way back, but the wind shifted on us suddenly. I don't remember looking down at the speed, but we must have been pacing around 30 when the "wind" felt like it stopped, and then suddenly slapped us in the face with a cold, strong headwind.

A few minutes after the wind shifted, only three of us were keeping pace when we got pelted in the face with heavy rain. I was cold when we pulled into the parking lot but I actually had a lot of fun coming back in like that. I'm not sure if we got hit by any, but driving home I drove through some pea-sized hail.

Oh yeah, I GOT A NEW BIKE! I finally bought a Time Trial bike. So far, I really like the thing, but it's going to take some training and seat time to get used to it. The seat tube angle is a different so you use a slightly different muscle group which is hard to explain. Basically, you feel the same burn in a place where you're not used to feeling it. I don't want to release any details about the bike onto my blog yet(not like anyone reads it other than me) because I don't have a wheelset for the bike yet. I don't really want to take pictures, nor create a bike profile in my bike garage for the bike until it's complete. That means getting at least a rear wheel and some pedals.

Speaking of wheels, the rear wheel on my race bike failed on me. I'm riding on a pair of Neuvation Aero4 wheels right now. I was a little bothered that the wheel failed me so close to my first race and I was worried about getting another wheel before this weekend. HOWEVER, Neuvation has amazing support and they shipped me a wheel as soon as they got my email. I've already had the wheel a couple days and it's ready to go.

I also had a problem with my left 105 brifter. I wasn't planning on upgrading the shifters on my race bike yet, but all the local shop had in stock was an Ultegra brifter. Oh and I put on a new Dura Ace chain. I just finished cleaning my bike a few minutes before I sat down type all this out and right now the bike looks really sleek. :)

I'm a little uneasy going into a race with three brand new parts on the bike, but I think everything will be fine. I'll post an update when I get back from the race tomorrow.