Fostering a Prince

A Pinarello Prince that is, and a very pretty little thing he is too. He's been spending the summer at my house and whilst he settled in has been restricted to the turbo trainer in the spare room. He had his first proper outing today - the usual 25 mile Ivinghoe Beacon loop that I do. Nothing too strenuous, just bike and rider getting familiar with each other's habits.


It's been a good few years since I rode an actual road bike, probably all the way back during the Tour of Ireland, and do most of my road miles on a Surly cross bike or my shonky old Marin that I use for commuting. So to take a spin out on this nifty little carbon number was something of a treat. Though a little short for me (a 48cm and I normally ride a 50cm) this just added to the zingy feel and the general feeling of wanting to 'go'. Out of the saddle every pedal stroke made him lurch forward despite my current lack of fitness and slight, er, 'excess baggage' at the moment.

I'm sure if I had anything like my usual form at the moment I would have smashed my record for this ride, but as it was I returned home in around the usual 1h40m. Though I must say spinning along the flat with the gps reading 42kph did give me hope for the future and increased motivation to get out and ride some more whilst the weather is still half decent. Thank you Prince!