First ride on the Long Haul Trucker

Today seemed like the opportune time to get that first ride on the LHT. The roads have been dry, for the most part, the past few days. With no slop or wet grit on the roads to get thrown up on my new bike, I decided to put some miles on it....58 miles to be exact. It rode about how I expected it to ride. A rock solid ride that lacks some of the snap and acceleration of a pure road bike. Overall I was very pleased. My road bike, a 2003 Bianchi Veloce, is still up for sale at my LBS. I may miss having a bike to get out there and really jam on, but in all reality, I only have that urge a couple times a year. I think I rode the Bianchi about twice a month last year.

I'd probably keep the road bike if I had the room. But room for bikes is at a premium in our household since we don't have a garage. I have much more use for a bike that has multiple purposes than one I ride 15 or 20 times a year. The LHT can do the long rides (and is much more comfortable than the road bike). It can carry panniers front and back. I hope to do more overnight bicycle camping and some loaded touring in the future. And it can be a back-up commuter bicycle as well.

It only took three miles before I had to stop and adjust the seat height. I had set it identical to my Cross Check, measuring from the center of the pedal axle to the top of the seat. The Cross Check has 165 mm crank arms while the new bike has 175 mm. I didn't think I'd feel the difference. But on every upstroke it felt like my knees were being tucked up under me. Perhaps it was the longer cranks making it feel so odd to me. I raised the seat and that seemed to solve that issue. Everything else felt good about the bike except perhaps the handlebar set-up. The handlebars are almost an inch closed to the seat, with the current stem, compared to the Cross Check. It felt cramped when I would rest my hands on the top flat part of the bar. I may go to a longer stem.

The ride today was one of my more miserable rides. I've only been doing short rides, but everyday. This ride was three times as long as most of the rides I've done in the last month and a half. Perhaps I lost some endurance. The temp was around 40 with a strong wind for a good part of the ride. The legs didn't have a lot of life right from the beginning. The second half of the ride was kind of a trudge. I've never been known to be a person that keeps up a high level of fitness without working hard at it. I lose it very quickly. I am going to start making sure I get in a longer ride at least once a week from now on.

March: 473 mi
2008: 1,608 mi