Amy

Amy arrived last night, along with Lochie's new tag along and after a few adjustments thanks to Paul, I was able to take her out for her first ride.  Sigh.  I thought I loved cycling beforehand.
Emma and I cycled over to Lucy and Daves, where they had a try of all the bikes and then Emma and I finished our ride where I ended at the gym for pilates and Emma went home.  By the time I had done my pilates class it was dark, but I had my lights and it was so warm it was not a bother to cycle home.  11 miles total.  A nice easy first distance.

Going from 'Beastie' the mountain bike to 'Maz' our cyclecross (hybrid type) bike at the end of last year to train for the April race, was a mega huge leap.  Changing to drop handle bars, the difference in braking and gear changing, let alone the actual ride style were a lot to get used to - riding had been a chore and a means to an end, then one day, in the earliest reaches of spring I realised that actually I was enjoying the riding - it was fun!

Well, going from my beloved 'Maz' to 'Amy' was not such a leap, her set up and general rule of thumb is the same as 'Maz'.  I would describe it as more of a delicate dance where we both new the rules and needed to find our rhythm.

Amy is smooth!  So smooth, everything abouth her is sleek and she wants to race away.  I have to keep the brakes much more feathered.  She is so light that the only effort up a hill is my (considerable!) weight, none of the effort is hers..  I could gush for an age, she really is lovely and I could giggle in delight at the thought of the summer stretching ahead of me and all the rides I have yet to cycle.

I do believe Amy and I are going to go further than I have yet thought I could, and that is VERY exciting!