Jul-15: Test and Adjust 104

My previous ride saw the demise, at least temporarily,
Of the only road bike I've ever owned.
[Well, full disclosure, I did purchase a Pilot 1.2 in early December 2016. 
Rode that bike four times totaling 112.8-miles Dec 6th thru 15th. 
But traded that bike in the afternoon of the 15th, for the Pilot 5.0. 

First ride on the Pilot 5.0 was 56.4-miles on the 16th. 
I recall that ride, approx 50-53 degrees F all ride, NO wind. 
A little chilly when in motion, 
But when stopped in the sunshine, very nice.]  

Anyway, while I consider whether to fix the Pilot 5.0 or acquire a new (probably used) bike, 
IvaHawk has loaned me his old aluminum Raleigh R600
That was just hanging around in his garage going unused.

We met for a ride to test out the potential of the loaner bike.
Doing the easiest / flattest perm-pop in the north Raleigh stable,
The "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" 104-km.

The first several miles were definitely not pleasant.
I was using "rat-cage" pedals instead of clipless,
Which resulted in the feeling that I was pedaling with my toes
Instead of the middle (or forefront) of my feet.

The seat-post was at the wrong height,
And it took until mile ten to get that sorted out.

All-in-all, I came to fully realize the travails that a newbie adult cyclist faces.
I've been riding a bike that fits me,
With handlebars that I like and were set to a proper height.
With handlebar tape that I like, and
With brake-shifters located where I like them, and
Shift dynamics with which I was familiar.

All of that on the loaner bike was "wrong", or
At least not to my liking.

It was easy to understand why so many give up after just a couple or a few rides.


Finally, as noted above, at about the 10-mile mark,
I got the saddle to the right position, or
At least an acceptable one.

The biggest issues I had after that were:

Whenever I would come to a stop, I would try to twist my foot to unclip.
That works for clipless pedals, useless for "rat-cages".
The first time I properly pulled my foot backward out of the cage was at the turn-around.

My right heal has always come close to scraping the right crank.
In fact, if you look at that crank arm, you'll see that some material is obviously missing.
Sixty-two thousand miles, perhaps 17 to 20 million pedal-strokes,
Many, or maybe only a couple million,
Just barely brushing the side of the heal of the shoe against the crank arm.
Not enough to ever notice, but enough to create the indentation.

Wearing former running shoes with wide heal bottoms,
The shoes kept banging into the crank.
Annoying.  Irritating. 
I finally was able to modify my position or my stroke to stop that, but
That may have contributed to my discomforts. 

Despite the difficulties and many pauses to make saddle adjustments outbound,
At some point on the homeward bound leg,
I realized that I had gotten things adjusted to the point where
I was comfortable and enjoying the ride.

Enjoying the ride sufficiently enough to decide to
Transfer the components from my Pilot 5.0 onto Iva's machine, and
To use said machine while I figure out and acquire a "permanent" solution.

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Official rando results: 

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf / 2259	104	2017/07/15	2	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T73538	7702	A__, Iva C	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:52
RUSA-T73539	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:52

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