coasting downhill

I check the various bike classifieds in Austin a few times a week looking for deals. One that I kept going back to was a listing in the Austin Cycling Association ads. It had been there since December, so when I emailed Ray (the seller) to ask about it, I was pretty certain it had already sold.

Ray was on vacation when he first got my message but let me know that he still had the bike. He also mentioned that he had replaced the wheels - the classified listing stated that the were not included. Once he returned to Austin, I took the bike on a couple of test rides down Duval, we eventually hammered out a deal (thanks for meeting me on the price, Ray), and I picked up my new ride on the evening of February 22nd.

The bike I hope to put my next few thousand miles on is a 2003 Litespeed Tuscany. The frame is polished titanium, so no worries about paint chips or rust. The components are 9-speed Ultegra. I've purchased a 12-25 cassette to replace the tiny 11-21 that's currently installed and a 90mm stem to improve my form/fit.

Weather and school have really been cutting into the time available to ride, but this morning I hit Southwest Parkway before church. On the long downhill south of William Cannon, I achieved a new high speed - 42 m.p.h. I can tell stability and handling is much improved over the Fuji.

Over the next few months I plan to get some longer rides in and actually start doing some true training instead of just cruising. Schedule permitting, my next goal is to ride the Hotter 'n Hell 100 in August. I should probably ride 50 miles in a day before trying to do 100 though...