But it’s missing something. Since my triathloning days, which began in the early 80’s, all of my bikes have been equipped with profile bars – addition to standard road bike drop bars that allow the rider to rest his/her elbows on pads just above the handle bar and with hands forward and outstretched. This brings the body lower and bent over the frame and handlebars making the rider more aero-dynamic. It can be a little uncomfortable for extended rides and although I’m no longer that interested in how fast I ride, which was their point, they add a different position to put yourself in and on a long ride switching positions regularly is very helpful to comfort.
I tried switching my old pair of Scott profile bars from UB Express to Locke, but the clamping system would not fit on Locke’s handlebars so I took the bike and bars to Performance to see if they could figure a way to get them on.
“Man…I just don’t see how we’re going to get these on,” Mosato, the clerk/mechanic who’d sold me the bike said.
I agreed and we went to look at new ones that would fit. I took a look at the stickers, around $150 for the top of the line and recoiled.
“Holy shit! I thought they’d be like fifty bucks!” I said.
“Yeah…they’re a lot. These minimalist ones aren’t too bad though,” he said, pointing to a pair that looked like it would fit better on a kid’s tricycle.
I picked them up, rested my arms where the elbow pads would be and considered. “Okay…I can always upgrade if they don’t work,” I said. Deal concluded.
I headed for a hike at Brandywine Falls. As is usually the case at the falls, there were gobbs (a lot) of people hovering around the falls, but very few back on the trails that drop with and from the falls down into the Cuyahoga National Park valley. It was warm and with many up and down trails, I broke a decent sweat over the next hour and four-plus miles of hiking. I certainly would have liked to put in a hard ride, but time and coming darkness had conspired against me and so I made the best of it.
Mosato didn’t have time to put on the handlebars, so I will give that a go one night this week. I hope to bring the bike along on my trip to Pennsylvania this weekend where I will be doing some camping, maintenance on a cabin, riding, and hiking with Dakota. It’ll be a test weekend for the Adirondacks, but I think I’m ready already…
Hike: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 70 - 90 bpm.
Calories Burned: 350.
Bonus: 23,000 steps.
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