Today, in lieu of a long ride, I wound up riding my bike to my 3 hours of softball - at the south end of Mercer Island. I took my trusty 12 year old Specialized Allez because I needed the panier to lug my gear.
Although I love my Allez with all it’s faults (like the top tube being too long for me, and the components are old (probably needs new hubs, etc)), I can tell you that I really really really appreciate my new Rodriguez bike - the S3 sport bike. With all my gear, plus the additional weight of the bike, panier and rack, I was probably lugging 20-30 lbs more than I do on a regular training day.
My average speed was approx 2mph less than it usually is. I told Ruben that having the panier (especially with the headwind) made it slower going on the flats and downhills, but it was most noticable going up hill - where it kind of felt like someone was holding onto the back of my rack and trying to make me go slower.
Still I managed to make it down there in 1hr 10 minutes - and got a coffee on the way. Home was pretty similar, although I stopped to chat with someone I know who lives along the bike route near the Arboretum.
