Guess what day it is! Guess what day it is!!!

Venge Day!

Anyone who tells you a normal road bike with a decent set of alloy wheels is the same as riding a sweet aero bike with a decent set of aero wheels, well they haven’t spent enough time on an aero bike.  The difference is astonishing.  In all fairness, though, a great bike won’t make a cyclist faster; a great aero bike makes fast easier.

That’s right, my friends.  I carted the Venge out yesterday for my ride with Chuck. Technically, Venge Day should have waited for another couple of weeks, but as you can see, it was beautiful outside.  Maybe not as warm as I’d have liked, but 50° (10 C) will do.

Having the Venge out was fun right from the first shift, after having perfected the cable routing over the winter.  I don’t remember the bike shifting that well right out of the box!  Part of the enjoyable nature of the ride was having completed all of the maintenance over the winter – the bike feels new.  Everything is tight, there are no creaks or squeaks… no clicks… just a whoosh through the air and that telltale sound carbon fiber aero wheels make when you’re pushing the pace out of the saddle.

We headed into the wind to start, taking it a little easy which was exactly what I wanted… Chuck and I are rarely in sync with easy days – either he’s pushing the pace or I am, but yesterday we just took it medium into the wind.  After a bonus 2-mile loop, the real fun started and we pushed the pace all the way home with a tailwind.  With the Trek, I’ve really gotta put some effort into getting the most out of the bike.  With my Specialized, I can literally feel it slip through the air… and that first time I feel it after spending the first weeks of the new year on the Trek, it always puts a smile on my face.

Venge Day was glorious this year.