The End of a Glorious Age

I knew it was going to happen as soon as I sat upon Slice of Life - my Giant TCR Advanced SL 2. My 2006 Trek Madone 5.2 was going to be a machine of the past. I considered keeping it around as a training bike, but the feel was so different I knew that training on it at all would inhibit my capacity on the new bike. So it was set aside and eventually up for sale. Last month, I sold the SRM that was my trusty training partner. Then I got really lucky. I was going down to DC to stay with my buddy Rob for a stage race in Maryland, and another friend down in DC knew someone who was looking for a bike! How about them apples! And it was the right size. So I eventually met with him last night and did the old money/bike switcheroo. It was nice to finally sell something I hadn't used, but I can honestly say it was a little sad to part with Lamia.

Not just because I spent so many hours riding, or the races I did (and the many during which I was so fortunate to actually cross that pretty white line first), or the people I met in the community. But the main reason I was saddened was because that chunk of well-aligned carbon fiber and efficient drivetrain was where I began to love cycling. Before Lamia cycling was much less a "sport" than "cross training", a method of maintaining fitness during my injuries as a runner. But all that changed on Lamia, which was intended as my entry into the world of triathlon in 2010. I fully decided that I was going to focus primarily on cycling just one year ago when I was living in Boston at my brother's apartment after graduating; in part due to my lack of spring swimming and in part due to my joy of cycling. And now - a year later - I am within striking distance of my Category 2 upgrade within less than 2 months of Category 3 racing.

I'm racing the Tour of Washington County, which was initially going to be a solo race with no one I knew. Luckily, Tim Durrin was easily convinced into racing with me this weekend. While we are both going to be racing for GC contention, it will be good to have a strong athlete with whom I am comfortable racing and in whose abilities I am confident. It's going to be a slugfest...especially because I'm throwing in a crit tonight on top of the stage race. Let's hope the body is recovered after last weekend! I'll find out in 7 hours' time.

Slice of Life. Officially Unveiled. (Post 2A of 3 post series)

So, I had this post completely written out. It was about 3 times as long...and went to post it via the mobile app today and it deleted most of the post.

Thus, I will have to completely re-write the post (~3 hours solid work) where I talk about the bike itself, the technology behind it, and the wonderful feel of riding it. This is now the "naming" post for my new bike, because that is the only part that was not cut off and deleted. Enjoy!!

I don't even know how to write this post. I've put so much time and effort into thinking about purchasing a bike that verbalizing the actual culmination of physically having and riding THE bike is difficult. All I can say is that I could not be one bit more pleased with going through on buying the bike. I had a couple points of "unsure-ness" along the way: 1) When I had my Madone tuned at Gorham Bike and it felt like a completely new bike. So good that I considered I might not actually need a new one - but then at the end of my first ride on it, a mechanical issue occurred that was inherent with the bike itself. This once again clarified how much of a step up getting a new bike would truly be. 2) When I first was on the new bike, it felt weird. The best analogy I can come up with is like an exponential form of how a first time customer at Maine Running Company feels when he or she wears an actual running shoe that is properly fit for the first time ever: it feels so different the individual is not sure it is 'right'. But as soon as he or she gets a few minutes on it or goes for the first run, it makes whatever they felt previous to this new shoe like a completely different activity than running.

This is what I felt once I had a few miles on the bike. It was a world of difference. But every single difference was a massive improvement. So much so that at first the bike even felt awkward to turn (I'm not kidding. My first turn out of the GBS parking lot onto Congress St was sketchy at best. I'm glad no one from the shop saw or they would think they just sold this beautiful bike to someone who struggled making a simple turn!)

Now to unveil the official name of my Giant TCR Advanced SL 2: Slice of Life. I was really set on naming my bike 'Dexter' because that was my (at first) humorous cycling/athletic alter-ego that began with the CompuTrainer workouts in December. However, I was calling myself Dexter and not my bike. My Trek was named "Lamia", Latin for 'witch', 'demon', or 'child-eater'. I named her on the way down to the 2011 Witches Cup, as my plan going into that race was to win it. It was a bold move (I don't think I told a soul about the name at first). Had I not won the race, the name of my bike would have been a constant reminder of failure. Had I won, it would have been a very fitting name. As for the 'child-eater' translation: I was a Category 4 cyclist, and was still not racing with the 'big boys'. Thus, with the bike, I was not taking down the MEN with her...I was taking down the kids who look up to the Cat 3's, 2's, and 1's (whom the 4's and 5's admire).

Slice of Life is a reference to Dexter the TV show. Dexter is a blood spatter analyst at a Miami police station, and just happens to be an assassin as well. Warning: Do not think I am going "off the deep end" or getting "dark and evil" with this name. It all started because about 5 years ago when my uncle and cousins pointed out that I look A LOT like Dexter in the show. Then friends in college picked up on it pretty quickly too. The pictures below are me from Halloween 2010.

Dexter only kills people who 'deserve' it by his father's standards and moral code, and only kills when he has complete proof of the victim's wrongdoing. His boat is named "Slice of Life", which is blatantly fitting for both his profession (blood spatter analyst) and his hobby (assassinating bad human beings). This late name-change from Dexter to Slice of Life (SoL) is because Dexter is the person and Slice of Life is the boat. Also, Slice of Life is fitting because it represents both a sliver and a huge part of my life. Cycling both breaks up and completes my day, nearly every day - as I just completed a half year of not missing a single day of cardio (including the period of having a broken clavicle!) As Dexter does his work on Slice of Life, I do mine. He typically disposes of his victims on his boat, while I plan to make my competitors (victims) suffer on my bike. So it all works out pretty darn well, and I can still be 'Dexter' without naming my bike Dexter as well. My bike is Slice of Life, a beautiful and stealthy Giant TCR Advanced SL 2, and I am the assassin that operates her as we take names and (hopefully!) kick asses.

Slice of Life. Hanging out at her favorite stomping grounds...Gorham Bike and Ski!

The scary part about investing thousands of dollars into anything, especially something you "already have" to some extent, is that you don't fully know that it would all be worth it until you get that feeling: the pure feeling of completeness and perfection. When I took my first ride on my new bike, at first I felt concern. The bike felt sweet(!!!) but not insanely awesome like I expected. Then I hit bumps in the road, exceeded 30MPH, took some corners hard, hung out in the drops, did a few sprints. It was literally an out of bike and out of body experience. I was feeling something 100% different than I was used to. I was feeling a true machine that was set just right for me. The combination of a top-end bike and a great fit finally melded with me. Last fall Jamie Wright (owner of Gorham Bike and Ski (AKA GBS), and fellow teammate on the Base-36/GBS squad) told me, "We have to get you on a 'real' bike." My response, "What's wrong with my bike [Trek Madone 5.2]?" He told me the difference in stiffness alone will amaze me and, almost more importantly, my competitors. I knew he was serious, as I now have the exact same bike that he has...and he's the owner of a bike shop with access to multiple brands and every tier of bike imaginable. Obviously I didn't get this bike because it was what he had, I got it because it is the absolute best and best for me and my purposes (argue about Shimano Di2 or Campy EPS all you want...then give me $5000+ so I can upgrade to that model and I will gladly shut up...maybe...because I love my new SRAM RED soo much! By the way: SRAM RED, my new component set, is post 3 of 3 in this series). Many of you might see an apparent "conflict of interest" as he is the bike shop owner of my team's sponsor and he's telling me a new bike will make a world of difference. Well, to all you haters out there, the bike is a world of difference...and as with any team at any (decent) bike shop we get some level of a discount on purchases. Thus, Jamie was 1) advising me as a friend 2) advising me as a teammate 3) making a smaller margin of profit on my purchase than other customers 4) I was pretty obviously going to buy my next bike from GBS regardless of what he said 5) he honestly wants me to have every single possible advantage of performance, comfort, and enjoyment in cycling because as teammates we feed off of each other's energy and successes. Example: when Jamie led out for me this past fall, he was the reason I won sprints...sometimes I barely even had to work to win sprints. Once, I took the final sprint of the Saturday Morning Ride (SMR) at the cookie jar with a sprint effort I would deem about 75%. That is absolutely nothing, especially for such a strong group of cyclists in such great late-season shape. Jamie just absolutely hammered out the pace into the sprint that no one had the ability to accelerate and challenge me for the sprint. This was no way a sign of my strength, it was a display of execution on his part. Do you believe me now? I would hope so, haha!

Our first real ride together. Beasting some 20% grades :).

All I can say is that Slice of Life is a beautiful machine and we will have many wonderful miles together as a team. The bike feels amazing and has already proven itself to produce some amazing results...I'll try to get back to work on my full-fledged post regarding no only how amazing of a bike it is, but why it is such an amazing machine.