Cycling

It has been a very long period... Indeed it was. I waited around 2 months to get my bike delivered over from the U.S. And it finally did... The Cannondale Six 13-3 (compact) reached "Wilayat Al Faqih International Airport" on Monday June 9... Here are the details.

Hi,

The shipment will be in Beirut on Monday June 9th.
It will be in the shop on Tuesday, and hopefully I will give you the bike on Wednesday with all the accessories you need.
Sorry for any delay or inconvenience

Best Regards

This time, he did not let me down, like the last 4 or 5 times. The bike was indeed in the shop on Tuesday. I couldn't believe that it has finally arrived. Just like I wanted it, just like I expected it, and just like he promised (and just like in the picture).

On Wednesday noon, the bike was ready; and so... after a long wait, I hit the the road and took my first pedal stroke, then the second... the third and off I was sprinting in the streets of Ashrafieh from Sassine Square to Nancy's at Sioufi!

I have never ridden a road bike before; but I have heard a lot about the phenomenal feelings and rush you get whenever you are on the saddle feeling the road's vibration beneath your handle bar... And you know what? They were right. I say it and I mean it, I have never felt such freedom in my life. Although I do have a car that can take me to virtually anywhere I want to go in Lebanon... but this one is different.

I have been riding every day since last Wednesday; my rides were almost climbing. So far I have logged around 150 km in 5 days. On Saturday morning we rode over the hills of Khenshara and Bologna it was a nice trip. Nobilis Tobilis (Fellow blogger and cyclist) and I met with a bunch of mountain bike riders, and they decided to take us for a trip around the hills of Metn to put our legs into test. Although they knew from the very beginning that they had very small chance to compete with us they still rode bravely. They have led us from Bickfaya to Deleb, however as soon as we hit the slopes leading the Zeghreen - Bteghreen and Khonshara they lost their momentum, and very rapidly we passed them without a lot of effort. The situation was pretty much like that the entire ride... However I should pay tribute to Wadih a 41 year old friend who was riding with us and who managed to stay in touch during the entire ride.

Now I need to explain a major bias and misconception about road bikes vs. mountain bikes. Almost all Mountain bikes owners claim that they can not compete with road bikes only because road bikes are 4 or 5 kilos lighter. Well this is partially true. However there is a big confounder factor for which mountain bike owners forget to control for; and that is physical fitness. Road bike owners are usually serious athletes who take cycling very seriously. Trust me on this one you would not be able to sit for 4 or 5 consecutive hours on the saddle, pedaling for hours if you do not have:

1. great low back muscles flexibility,
2. very high cardio endurance base (this is why I was running and training to become a marathoner)
3. And being lightweight (now this is the main reason for loosing more than 38 pounds without being a fat guy to start with)

Besides fitness, you wouldn't plunge into a VERY expensive investment if you weren't serious about the sport. Now this was for mountain bike riders who think that road bike are "faster" than mountain bikes!!!

Yesterday was the big day. We decided to hit the big mountains, now that was a real test for the heart and legs. We were 4 riders to meet in Faraya square at 8:30 am (NT, me and two other friends). According to NT not all riders can make it to the mountain top (at least without stopping for several times), not to mention those who have been riding for only 4 days; but he had rode with me on Wednesday and Saturday, and he knew that I was ready for the BIG challenge.

The road was as following: We ride 12.5km of solid climb going up around 800 m (from 1400 m to 2200m of altitude) then around 19 km of hills arriving Jerd Baalback, then 12.5 km of descent.

Results: I arrived second to the mountain top after NT.

After yesterday's experience and the pain I went through during the climb I have developed some sort of relationship with my bike, because she/it has endured as much as i did, she hasn't let me down, even on the steepest section when i was standing and putting all my weight and strength on its handle bar, she/it didn't let me down, not even on the steepest descends. I have finally came to realize the kind of bond my friends used to tell me about, it kind of become some sort of an extension to your body, you simply learn to love your bike!