back from Lanza and a bike review

Well Lanzarote training camp proved interesting for many reasons but I finally got to ride my Boardman Carbon Team bike for the first time. Still unable to run from an achilles tendon strain picked up a few weeks before the tour meant I was able to focus on biking with some swimming thrown in for good measure. Those who know me are aware of my dislike of swimming but in triathlon its a means to the bike leg. I did enjoy the open water swim in the lagoon where I took a session for some novice triathletes.

As for the biking.... well I was meant to be on ride one day then day off to let my achilles get better but it didnt ache so I decided on a good ride followed by an easy ride day. This worked and I managed to clock about 280miles during the week. Picking up a cold and sore throat the day before departure didnt help with the breathing and heart rate. I had to ease back when I saw 192HR going up Tabayesco switchbacks.

The bike itself felt great at first but I did notice that accelerating uphill leaves a lot to be desired. Certainly not as stiff as my old Giant TCR which used to skip at the backend. Overal though the steering was precise and I was able to go faster into corners than I have in recent years. The SRAM Rival groupset took a little to get used to with the doubletap system but after a while I am beginning to think I like it better than Shimano. I do miss cables at the front tyo hold on to though as if in a tri position. The wheelset are good to. They roll nicely and held true on the bobbly rough Lanzarote roads. The only real downside was the saddle. I have been wearing trishorts to train in and with a great big pad the saddle made the nether regions a little tenderised after a few days. This will be getting swapped very soon. Maybe a SLR XP or an Arione.

Still the bike was definately worth what I paid and the bike shop in La santa village is getting 30 Team Boardmans soon(not the Ltd Ed version in white though :-))

Roll on summer, its cold being back in Blighty. Got a 2hr ride tomorrow with some old friends.