Bella è bella.

I took her out for the first outside ride today and she is magnificent. I know I've had her for a while, but let's not forget that whole pedal debacle and that weather in Indiana has been less than ideal for bike riding. I'm not going to be an apologist. I'm glad I waited. Although, I do wish I could have taken her out for the first time in a more ceremonious manner. But then it donned on me... Fairfax, Va is expecting 14-20 inches of snow tomorrow. It was only 33 degrees out and not particularly windy compared to Indiana, Pa. With all this in mind I took her out and she showed me a good time. Completely worth the money. Her name is Bella meaning beautiful in Italian. That was what I came up with and it stuck.

Man is she fast. I must admit, being noticeable lighter, she does not accelerate quite as fast as my old bike did on the downhill, but her acceleration on the uphill more than makes up for it (and that's where it counts). The handling on the bike is much better too. I almost had my front and rear wheels washed out from under me at different occasions to no fault of the bike, but my choice of line through some turns and braking. Allow me to reiterate, this was my first outside ride with her so handling, shifting, and braking are different. Thus, I need to get used to it all. I don't think it will take long tho.

The comfort and feeling I have on this bike is something I am really excited about. There was a noticeable difference in cornering and ease of shifting. This bike is such a step up from my old one. Not to mention the Fizik Arione saddle I got for this was well worth the extra cash! I love this bike and am looking forward to continued training (trainer riding) on this through the winter months coming to race in the spring.

Today is my sister's bday and I was supposed to go to Florida and visit my family down there that I haven't seen in over a year. Unfortunately, this 14-20 inches of snow coming is probably going to hinder the trip. Guess I won't have an excuse for a break in my training program...