Here come the Hawks

Don't forget their crowds too. I should have known better than to try and go for a ride this afternoon but I just couldn't help myself.

I got a new hand-me-down earlier this month. The mother-in-law wanted to upgrade her ride, and the 2010 WSD Madones had caught her eye. She was already riding a Trek Pilot 5.2 but not the WSD, and not really fitted that well to her either. I actually started commuting on one of her old worldsports, but moving up to the Pilot is a whole 'nother deal.

I've gone over 800 miles on the trainer since the wife picked me up a computer, but none of that can prepare you for an actual bike ride. We took a quick one in the suburbs last week, an 8 mile jaunt around one of the trails out by Arrowhead in Wheaton. Today the itch to hop on the carbon and really take it for a ride was too much to resist, and off I went. Parade crowd or not.

The Pilot is kind of an odd design. It's almost like one of the Giant or Specialized compacts, where you're sitting pretty upright even with the seat way up. I didn't think I'd like it but for my first real road ride in months my butt, hands, and wrists barely complained at all. It's still got an old lady gel saddle on that I have to change, but that's about it. I'm definitely not going to whine about someone giving me a fully loaded carbon bike, used or whatever. The only thing I was worried about other than being patient with foot traffic was getting doored after getting a little urban-rusty. Traffic was tight at times but not bad.

The best part, I got a call for an interview just as I was walking up to my building at the end of the ride. Still looking, but it feels good to have some potential again.

Current beer-scale: 7.1; it's hot and I've got lagers.