I was a little tired and sore after yesterday's ride, so I opted to not join the team this morning and do a mellow ride to recover. I also visited 3 shops to start the process of looking for a new bike. Both were pretty fun. I started out going by the shop that sponsors the team I ride with, but the person who knows the bikes I wanted to look at was out. I will try later. That got me started on the Viales going around the west side of town, where I hooked up with the beautiful curvy road from Porta Romana to Poggio Imperiale. I rode over to Galluzzo, and took the road up through Pozzolatico, turning off for San Gersole just before Mezzomonte. I rode up, over and through San Gersole, then started the descent and turned off to descend through Vacciano, which has become a favorite up hill for me lately. Nice descent, which brought me to Cinque Vie, where I headed back to the Viale on the east side of town. I took a right at the road to Pontesieve, and rode out to the roundabout that brought me by ProBike.
I check out the Specialized Robaix there, which would seem to be a perfect bike for what I want, but at least in Italy, it does not come with the electronic Ultegra Di2, which I believe I definitely want. They said they could switch it, but I would have to buy the package, then buy the new Di2, which would make it too expensive. I then rode toward the house, and stopped at another shop, Le Due Ruote. Here I did my best to communicate in Italian my desires, and a Bianchi Infinito was recommended. With the Di2, it was 4750 euro, so a little too much. The person suggested that a discount would be available, but he could not drop it to the 4000 euro I said I wanted to spend. I told him I was just starting the search, and I would get back in touch with him. From there, a quick 3 kilometers and I am home. Considering the weather, it was a pretty fun excursion.
The summary is: 21 miles, 1250 vertical, 1:41 rolling time, 12.1 mph average speed, at an average temperature of 39 Fahrenheit. The garmin link is:
I love this bell tower and the stone work on this church in San Gersole.
ahhh.... the fun of bike shopping. Did you bring your bike from CB over or are you still riding the bike that you bought in Italy?
ReplyDeleteIf you need any help on this side of the pond.... parts, shipping, etc. let me know.
JK
I did bring my bike over from the US, but it is a 14 year old frame with wheels, bars, stems, etc., updated 6 years ago. Thanks for the offer of help, but the shipping costs are ridiculous, and there are many bike shops over here. Ciao.
Delete