Maiden Voyage of Le Bleriot

Date: Dec 30
Mileage: 38
Ride type: Road
Bike: Bleriot
Temp: 45F
December mileage: 399
Year to date: 2626

First real ride on the Bleriot today. Yesterday was spent in Lexington watching the victorious Cats put the nasty beat down on Clemson. It was also a day filled with cheese dip and "puppy chow", which is what some of the school kids call a mix of cereals, M&Ms, and whatev covered in white chocolate. Game was great and time with friends even better. Now to today's ride.

Before I get to Bleriot talk, I want to say that I wimped out a little. I had planned a ride of more than 40m (according to googlepedometer). Once I got to the top of Holsclaw Hill, I wimped out, turned around and returned roughly in the same path. I wanted the first voyage on the Bleriot to be a statement, in that I really want 2007 to be the year of the bike, and justify me owning all these damn bikes in the first place.

My route took me across Eastern Pkwy(ish), down Southern Pkwy, and through Iroquois Pk. From there I worked my way over to Fairdale and Holsclaw Hill. The original intent was to go to Brooks Rd. and come over the back of Mitchell Hill, but one big climb was adequate for the day. I must say I could never, EVER, go back to a 2-chainring setup like on the Bridgestone. I'm fat, slow, and love small gears to get over very steep climbs. I find myself pretty tired for some reason, perhaps the cheese dip, but here are the first-ride impressions of the Bleriot:

• I really like the upright, comfortable geometry. Right away you sit on the bike and it feels like a comfy chair you've used for a good while. I have the bars set pretty high. I may lower them a bit, but overall, the geometry really pleased me.
• I find the Bleriot stable, but not "sluggish" as some have called it. Yes, it's sluggish compared to a carbon fiber racing bike, butit was perfectly lively for my standards, every bit as much as the Blueridge or even the RB-1.
• The Brooks saddle was comfortable right away. I originally wanted a B-17 in Honeybrown. Jim @ Hiawatha threw in an upgraded B-17 Ti in antique brown. It's great looking and instantly comfortable. I've found, though, that my Brooks saddles are almost like moods, happy one day, pissy the next.
• I fiddled a couple times with handlebar angle. I first moved it down b/c my wrist were titled a little sharply. The adjustment needed a readjustment b/c they had ended up too low, not unlike a standard roadie placement. Third time was the charm though.
• The biggest concern right now is the Col de la Vie tires. I removed and remounted both front and back, but the front seems to have a lump in it, with the requisite bump bump bump with every revolution. I checked the bead to make sure it was evenly set in the rim, and that there is no tube stuck up in there. Funnily, the sidewalls of the CdlV are very soft and supple. That's good for road feel, but strangely difficult to work with as far as most efficiently mounting the tire on the room; they sort of wiggle. I'm going to address this again this afternoon, but this is a concern. I don't know if it's defective, if it's my imagination, my mechanical skills, or just part of its "personality". The back seems to have a similar issue, but I didn't notice the "bump bump" or "hop hop" like on the front. The pillowy smooth ride was nice...if there weren't such a pronounced hop to it.
• I still have more tweaking needed of the front fender. I got it adjusted so that it didn't rub normally, but it was a bit when climbing. It wasn't too bothersome.

I really enjoyed the ride, and am ready to put more miles in tomorrow a.m. In the end, it's the engine that matters, but it helps if the engine is comfy.

Full pic of the Bleriot with mostly everything mounted. Up front Jim's good-looking wrap job on the bars. On the back, the Carradice Nelson Longflap supported by the Nitto rack. The 2 further changes would/will be #1 gotta get a couple cool bottle cages, which are on the way and #2 to Computer or Not to Computer? That is the Q.

This is from the top of Holsclaw Hill. At first I didn't like the power lines in the shot, and now I sorta do. The most-distant ridges are Indiana.