I bought a new bike!!

Went for my bike fitting appointment ytd. it was rather professional, with sensors and image capturing. we started off by a simple Q&A to find out my biking needs, usual distance covered, race goals etc. Then it's up onto the static bike for image capturing. after taking my measurements and observing the way i pedal, the fitter then went to do up some formula to see which bike can accomodate me. reason being, i'm quite weirdly structured: i have a long upper body and arms, and shorter-than-normal legs, for a person of my height. the fitter actually made me go onto the static bike again after he done up his formula just to confirm it. I neglected to tell him this before we started the fitting.

So, the usual sequence is that the fitter comes up with at least 2 recommendations according to the formula he done up. For my case, he took much longer than CJ, as my body shape will mean that i have to use a medium frame, but my short legs means my seat post will be rather low. according to the fitter, this will make the bike less able to take shock from potholes or bumpy roads. But i figured i won't be riding on such rough conditions anyway. one of the choices included the one i had already made up my mind to get. I did think through the merits of the second option (Ridley Excalibur, a Belgium maker), but the Felt AR4 '09 version was going at a clear-out price as the '10 bikes are already available, so i just couldn't give it up.

Here's a pic from the website:

A summary: full carbon fiber bike, aerodynamically shaped frame, internal cable routing, Shimano Ultegra SL drivetrain, and Felt AeroR3 wheels to complete it. it doesn't come with pedals, so i'll have to install that at the bike shop, together with a cyclometer, decided to go with the Cateye Strada Wireless. was up till 2am last night to do online shopping, managed to find Giro Ionos helmet (one of the best out there) and Sidi T2.6 carbon tri shoes (one of the best out there), both at half price off or better!! i'm so proud of myself =)

my first week (cont'd)

As promised, a photo of my license plate:

Funny thing is, i realised i haven't taken any pics with this car. maybe cos i find it boring...

Anyway, we went to the beach on sat, and it was my first encounter with the Atlantic Ocean. So now i have the privilege to say that I've seen 2 different oceans, the other being the Pacific.

Trying to be artistic, and capture how clear the water is. failing miserably...

and this is the first meal we cooked together!

I realised my blogging can never catch up with what i'm doing, cos i'm always doing research on online shopping instead of blogging. and i haven't been taking enough nice pics to put up anyway. but i'll try. This weekend i'm doing a road trip on my own. Going to the National Navy UDT-SEALS Museum for the open house and listen to this talk, and hopefully get some nice souvenirs. After that i'll be visiting St Augustine for some shopping and sight-seeing, followed by Jacksonville to meet Jessica's sister. There's a Sea & Sky Spectacular at Jacksonville, but i'll only go if time permits, cos i guess it'll be the same as the Miramar Airshow i went to last yr, with the Blue Angels performance and the static displays. I'll blog abt my road trip next week, and also abt all the stuff i bought so far =)