:D

Two years ago I bought a hybrid bike to start my cycling adventures from my new home, it has served me well, having been riden at least 800+ times.

However now was the time to get a bit more serious, I want to start riding in events, longer distances. My older bike can only go so fast, the rims are completely worn out, its squeaking like crazy, it was due for another few hundred dollars worth of service.

It was time for the next level, a road bike.

Getting advice online and from friends, I settled on a Giant Defy 1 bike, which retails for $1499. No were near the upper price range of a road bike but more than good enough for what I want to do with it, being my first ever road bike.

I headed to MC Cyclery in the city on Clarence St, a store that specialises in Giant bikes, got some final advice and went for it. The guys here are really helpful, recommended.

Now buying a road bike also usually means you need to buy riding shoes as well, as you clip into the pedals.

The clips on the shoes going into the pedals took a little getting used to as you are literally clipped in unable to move your foot. To get out you twist your foot to the outside, releasing it. It reminds me most of being in a set of skis, you are going to stay attached unless you have a accident.

From what I hear, a lot of people stack it the first few rides they have while they get their bearing, but i'm determined not to! There were a couple of instances where I almost fell over but it was all good.

It's all about judging the current situation, how fast you're going and whether you are going to need to stop and be prepared. Sometimes it's worth only keeping one shoe clipped in, applying power to the shoe that is properly secured and just taking it slow while you navigate the traffic.

Because you are clipped in, it means you can use your legs a lot more, something I wasn't aware of. As in, lifting your legs up as well as pushing them down.

Another big change from my old bike is the rolling resistance due to the tires being much thinner and smoother, the bike just glides along the road now. I'm also sitting up much higher (just look at that seat height), so it feels like i'm dominating the road, getting up hills is easier.

Acceleration is also a noticeable difference, I can get from 0 - 30 in a matter of seconds.

The past month or so i've been doing really big bike rides once a week, on average it's been 50km+ on Saturday, around 2 hours of riding. Before I got the bike I went on this ride, took note of the numbers, then did the exact same thing the next week with the road bike, here are the results:

	Distance (km)	Duration (h:m:s)	Avg. Pace (min/km)	Avg. Speed (km/h)
1st October	50.89	2:02:13	2:24	24.98
8th October	51.12	1:47:46	2:07	28.46

That is 14.27 minutes faster and it's just the average of my 2 latest rides, so i'm really pleased with the new bike, it's going to get better and better!

Times are a bit rough at the moment with money, so I wish to thank my Dad for helping me out a bit with a loan to help pay for my bike, it's a time critical situation and it means a lot to me to get out and ride properly as it's something I love doing.

Here are a bunch more photos I took while out on a ride last weekend: