Saturday, November 05, 2016

Cycling Oceanside


This picture is taken at Carlsbad beach during a cycling event with Performance Bikes group. We started from the bike shop at Oceanside, rode down Plaza drive to Hecienda, then south on Melrose, to Palomar, to Paseo Del Norte, to Cannon Rd. to Carlsbad Blvd. On the way back we took Cannon Rd. all the way to College Blvd. to Plaza Dr. to the bike shop again. The ride was about 22 miles and took about 2 hours and 15 minutes including a brief stop, which means we were making about 10 miles per hour. My Trek mountain bike served me quite well over the past several years especially on dirt rough roads up and down hills, but here in California one needs a road bike to take on those smoothly paved hilly roads that require a lighter and more maneuver capable bike, so I bought this Fuji Roubaix 1.0 road bike. This bike comes with a light aluminum frame (except the front fork which is all carbon), Ultegra 11-speed drivetrain, 105 front derailleur, and Oval compact crankset and Shimano 11/28 cassette. The wheels are Oval 327 with Vittoria Zaffiro slick Slick tires. At first I installed Shimano pedals with triangular cleats PD-R550 that go with Shimano RP-05 shoes, but after falling four or five times while using them I decided to return them and replace them with regular platform pedals. I rode this new bike along 18 miles which took me about two hours and the experience was fantastic. The Ultegra drivetrain shifts flawlessly and the brakes work great giving an overall exhilarating experience. I also liked the Oceanside bike shop "Performance Bikes" who accepted my returns with no questions asked, and they re-aligned my gears after my numerous falls off the bike free of charge.