Ruby

This past December, I bought a new Specialized Roubaix Triple. Now that I've put some miles on it , I feel that I can write a proper review.

I can put it simply: I love this bike! The frame is very forgiving but light and stiff enough for climbing. Many of the roads I ride on around here are a little beat up and have plenty of imperfections. This frame and fork absorb most of the shock and keep it out of your hands, arms and back. Perfect for those of us on the wrong side of 30 (or 40 as the case may be).

Initially, I thought the geometry and laid back demeanor would mean that it would handle like a '76 El Dorado but I've been pleasantly surprised. It's no racing bike, but handles responsively enough for us mere mortals. I feel very comfortable at speed on tight turns.

The most pleasant surprise is how well it climbs. The frame is very stiff laterally and I feel like I can climb all day. Part of that is the triple chain ring. I had to be convinced by the guy at the shop to get a triple instead of a double (a macho thing) and I'm really glad I did. I don't use it often, but there is almost a psychological advantage to knowing that you could get in a lower gear if you needed to. Plus, when you do need it (Camilla St. on the way up Mill Mt.), it saves your legs. I'll gladly take the few extra grams for a lot more gear range.

On the downside, I don't like the stock wheels (Mavic CXP22 rims with Specialized hubs). They are heavy and feel unresponsive. As soon as I can justify it, I'll spring for a new set. Also, I'm not quite as fond of the Shimano STI shifting action as I was really used to Campy Ergopower, but I've been getting used to it. So far the other stock components (seat, handlebars, stem, etc.) are fine and I'm OK with having purchased the low-end model (the next step up was about 30% more).

I'm glad I have Ruby to replace my 1994 Trek 2200 and I'm looking forward to many more miles in the saddle.

This is the kind of weather forecast I like to see!

After this winter, we deserve this kind of weather for the next three months!

Second Day

Good second day of practice yesterday. It was warm and sunny in the afternoon (see dog at left), but clouded up for practice. Still very nice though.

The girls are incredibly competitive. They love the 1-on-1 ground ball competition drills and do a nice job with it. The throwing and catching needs to get better overall (wall ball!) but there is some progress there as well. PlaySportsTV has some simple throwing and catching video instruction. Good stuff.

The 3-on-3 had some issues, but they got better with it each time through. A couple of covers and they need to master the stop on the whistle thing, but the effort was good and there was very little hacking (no checking in our league). The level of physical fitness varies pretty widely, but everyone is trying on the wind sprints at the end.

I can't wait until practice next week!

Lacrosse Season!

We had our first RVLLA practice of the year on Monday. It was cold and windy, but a perfect day to be out there (any day would have been perfect . It's a big group this year with many returning players and new faces.

I'm working with a new coach, CP, this year as Susan has moved on to the middle school team. She will be missed (although she isn't too far away). CP and I both brought practice plans with us on the first day. We are, quite literally, on the same page. It should be a whole lot of fun.

Our second practice is today and the lacrosse gods have smiled upon us and given us a beautiful sunny day to pay homage to them (or at least not offend).

June

It's time for the monthly update on my New Year Resolutions. We are halfway through the year, and I'm about halfway through the resolutions.

1. Do two triathlons. I did two events in June (neither very well, but that is besides the point).


2. Coach my daughter's lacrosse team. The season is over and I miss it already. We only lost two games (and one was against middle schoolers) and it was a fun season. Maybe it won't rain so much next year.


3. Learn something new. I'm converting my old Cannondale to be a single speed bike. So, I'm learning bicycle maintenance. I'm really tempted to build a bike from the frame up next.


4. Swim 50 miles over the course of the year. I swam 7,850 yards in May (4.5 miles) for a total of 53,350 (30 miles) on the year. If I can swim 4 miles a month, I'll be done in October. I also ran 24 mi and rode 117 mi in June.


5. Pass an SAP certification exam. Nope.

May

Time for the monthly update on my New Year Resolutions:

1. Do two triathlons. I'm signed up for two events in June. I swam 5600 yds, rode 156 mi and ran 35 mi in May, so I think I'm ready to go.


2. Coach my daughter's lacrosse team. The season is over and I miss it already. We only lost two games (and one was against middle schoolers) and it was a fun season. Maybe it won't rain so much next year.


3. Learn something new. Not much going on here. Lots of ideas, but no real action.


4. Swim 50 miles over the course of the year. I'm over halfway there. I swam 5,600 yards in May (3.2 miles) for a total of 45,500 (26 miles) on the year.


5. Pass an SAP certification exam. I might schedule this for early July since we are heading to Philadelphia anyway.

update

A (belated) update on the status of my New Year's Resolutions:

1. Do two triathlons. They cancelled the easy one in Blacksburg, so I might have to actually do two real ones. I'm keeping up with the swimming, but the running and cycling are so-so.
2. Coach my daughter's lacrosse team. The season is almost over and we are now 5-2. We lost our last game to Lexington 9-8. It was a good game and all tied up at half, but we fell asleep right after halftime and gave up 4 quick goals because we couldn't win a draw or get a ground ball. After a few minutes, the girls seemed to realize that they were getting killed and brought it to within 2 goals with about 20 seconds left. Sophie won the draw right off and scored to make it a one goal game with 1o seconds on the clock. Then she won the next draw and was just getting ready to shoot when time expired.
   
3. Learn something new. No progress. I'm relearning C++ on a project I'm working on, but I guess that doesn't count.
   
4. Swim 50 miles over the course of the year. Still ahead of schedule here. I swam 7,000 yards in April (4 miles) for a total of 39,900 (22.8 miles) on the year.
5. Pass an SAP certification exam. Need to work on this one.