Fitting Redux Part 1

Ended the Friday work day by getting the 3T ARX-Team stem in a lovely 110mm version. This is both shorter and has a shallower drop than the Easton EA90 (130mm, mint condition, for sale) I'd had on there. I did a short ride last night, first on the rollers then in RCP. I think I am learning the new position. It takes a bit of concentration to maintain, which is probably why BJ recommended not going out and hammering for a while. Learn where your body's supposed to be and make it second nature. A few things I noticed:
1. Although my seat and bars went up, my center of gravity has clearly gone down. Cornering was more fun than usual.
2. I go faster. For a given effort level of effort, I just plain go faster.
3. I can't yet produce as much power as I could in the old position.
4. The drops used to be a mostly superfluous part of my bike. Now I'm in them all the time. Very natural.

This morning, I took off for Sugarloaf with a team mate. I've been close to there a bunch of times but have never actually been there. It's really nice, and we only got rained on for a short time.

I was wicked diligent about doing my position checks, and I think at some point the oddness of the new position wore off. I stopped feeling odd when I was in the right position. The big thing I noticed today was that apparently I haven't been using my quads to pedal the bike. Jesus GOD did they start giving me the business during this ride. F**k! Ow. I'd often kind of wondered why my quads didn't get as developed as they do on other people, but figured that was just me. Apparently not.

So now, as I figure it, I've got to put my quads through hell to get them ready for the June races I'd like to do well in. That's the bad news. The good news is that I've got this huge pair of muscles that are now getting in the game. I'm expecting that there will be a dip in power as I go through getting used to the position and building up my quads, and then hope to see an improvement as things progress.

The other thing is that my left ear didn't hurt after today's ride, which it would have before I changed position. So go get a fitting with BJ, your ears will stop hurting.

Can I have a mint julep now? His father was a mudder! His mother was a mudder!