new bike revisited

Another long country ride -- 50 K this time. And again, slower than I would like. 2 hours, 24 minutes. It was a little windy again today. When riding west, I had to pedal like mad to keep up my speed on the downhill stretches. I also changed my route a bit, coming home through the woods, which is a slower ride because of the many curves and meandering pedestrians. 

But still -- I can't believe that my old beater olive-green hybrid (we're talking maybe 15-20 years old) -- the bike we bought used at United Cycle for $200 -- is faster than my beautiful new matte-black-with-pink-accents Specialized Vita flatbar road bike, billed as "a speedy performer that can eat miles with the best of them..."

Maybe I should have known. I've often referred to my old bike as The Miracle Bike. We originally bought it as an extra bike, to use when one of our "good bikes" was being serviced or when we had a guest visiting. But when I had to use the spare bike, I found I liked it. The first thing I noticed was that it was fast. Riding it seemed almost effortless. And it was comfy. It was sturdy enough to handle racks and fenders and everything else I needed for riding to work. So, it became my bike. Not only my commuting bike, but my do-all bike. When I rode the 230 km Icefields Parkway last fall, I cruised up the hills with ease (well, relatively speaking -- we are talking mountains, after all) and at the end of the ride, I wasn't even sore. In fact, I've never experienced any soreness whatsoever on that bike.

I weighed the bikes today, stepping on the scale holding first one and then the other. The weights are not much different -- the old bike might be 1 kg heavier. So, the Vita is not a big improvement in that regard.

Also, I noticed that when pedaling the new bike, I feel as if I am pushing down more than forward. Not sure what that means. And to top it off, the fronts of my knees feel a little sore -- a problem I've never had with the old bike.

So, what do I do now? I'm not sure whether I can return the Vita to the bike shop and exchange it for something else. Maybe a full-fledged road bike? Or a lighter version of the flatbar road bike? Maybe I just need to make some adjustments to the seat height and position? 

Whatever the problem -- it's frustrating and disappointing.

But today was a good ride, nevertheless. I started out wearing my Under Armour winter long-sleeve top, a lightweight merino wool sweater and my Sugoi RX Zero jacket, as well as my Castelli Diluvio winter gloves. After the first 9K (all uphill) I had to stop and remove the merino layer and switch to my summer gloves.

At one point, right after I turned to start back to town, I saw three deer on the road in front of me. I should have stopped to take a proper photo instead of trying to ride and shoot at the same time. But I was trying to keep track of my speed and didn't want to stop. You can sort of see them...

And as I rode through the woods on the final stretch, I was pursued by three Dobermans. I've heard of this happening, but it was a first for me. If it weren't for the fact that people are required to have their dogs leashed in that area, I would have to say that they were beautiful dogs and it was kind of fun having them run alongside, But don't tell their owner I said that!