Slow day, slow ride, legs like lead

Slow day, slow ride, legs like lead. Why is it that some days I wake up full of energy; I bounce out of bed get my riding kit on then jump on the bike and fly up the hills on the way to work. Everything feels easy and right. Then there’s days like today, all felt the same until I hit the first hill, my legs felt heavy and the bike felt like sluggish and tight like the brakes were on and bearing were binding. None of these things we actually happening; it was all just down to me. I still stood up all the way up that hill mind you, not easing myself into the saddle until I had cleared the brow and my speed was picking up.
And so the training continues, I know the fixie is arriving in a few weeks time and I want to be strong enough to clear all the hills on the way to work from the moment it arrives. So I find myself lugging my tank of a DMR Trailstar with its enormous Marzocchi Z150 suspension forks and 2.5inch knobbly tyres that seem to drag at the tarmac up the hills determined not to change gear, just push myself harder. From the ache in my legs I know it’s making me stronger. I know it will be easier on the fixie with its tiny high pressure road tyres not to mention the entire bike weighs about the same as the front wheel of my DMR!
Jonathan was down from Bristol last night for an evening of guitar playing and talking music and bikes. We talked about the whole steel over aluminium frame thing, the comfort that steel offers against the stiffness of aluminium. Whilst I agree in the virtues of steel over aluminium I will still be getting the aluminium version of the Langster as the geometry of the steel version is just to harsh for my first fixie, and let’s not forget the reason for getting this bike in the first place; it’s supposed to be a cheap bike for commuting to work on. If I become one of the truly converted through riding the Langster then I will look at buying a sleek steel framed fixie for purely recreational use. My dilemma now is to try to decide which pedals to fit to my new ride. It comes with some very basic but functional looking caged toeclip pedals, but I think I will feel better on some double sided clipless pedals. There are so many out there so now it’s time to trawl through the web reviews and find a set in my price range that match my requirements; oh yes and some shoes to go with them. My “Five Ten” boots are no good for this kind of riding.