Day 4 - Rapha Rising

TODAY'S RIDE
22.5 miles, 1674'
TOTAL:
61.3 miles, 6691'
TOUR DE FRANCE Stage 4: Cadel wins! and Thor fought hard to stay in yellow.  On a stage that Gilbert was the favorite, Evans beats Contador by about a 1/4 wheel on the line. Exciting finish!  Cadel stays 1 second down on GC.

Today I was in Irvine to show my face at work.  The rest of the week, I'm working from home in Thousand Oaks so it is a long drive.  I had a 4:00 meeting and went for a ride with Larry after work.  It's great riding with someone again.  I spend about 90% of my time riding alone so this is a real treat for me.  It was the same for him so as usual on the uphill we were both going harder than we would normally do.  Not racing but pushing each other.

It was my maiden voyage on the Rock Lobster Cross.  I think her name will be "Mama Celeste" but not completely sure yet. I used the Colnago front wheel and changed the rear tire for the road since Larry wanted to see the bike but go for a road ride. I have to say the bike feels great. After an hour, I wasn't thinking about the bike anymore and everything fit perfectly. The bike accelerates really well and this is the same wheelset as the Colnago so I'm guessing it is stiffer and just goes. I guess the longer wheelbase doesn't affect this bike at all.  Really psyched about that. I can feel the handlebars are high but when sprinting, it was still balanced. I will likely do a comparison with the Colnago tomorrow before going on the dirt.  This will be an awesome race bike.