Trek Valencia Experience : Ride #2 (of 10)
Ride Type: Difficult commute in very strong, gusty winds
Distance: 22 miles

Well, I’ve already had a negative experience with my new Trek Valencia commuter bike.

No, it had nothing to do with the bike.

It had to do with 20-30mph winds I encountered on my ride home from work.

This Tuesday turned out to be a strange day. I biked to work with a calm wind and warm, humid conditions (nice and sweaty when I arrived to the office) and then biked home in a completely different situation with a strong cold front blowing through.

So, with that context in mind, here are a few highlights from Valencia Ride #2:

• Ride Comfort: Turns out that Ride#1 involved riding the bike with the tires at about 60psi – that’s half of the 110psi maximum listed on the tire. Aha! The exceptionally smooth ride was due – in part – to this low tire inflation. That said, riding the Valencia at 100psi resulted in crisper ride. The frame still handled the bumps quite well but I had a lot more road feel as well. Overall, still pretty happy with the ride quality. I’d like to find an inflation value that provides a happy medium between comfort and tire protection. I’ll let you know when I find it!
• Speed: According to Garmin Connect, I was able to shave about 7 minutes off my average commute to work speed with the Fisher Tassajara mountain bike. That’s great news. Average speed was around 12mph on the Valencia versus 10mph or so on the MTB. Based on heart rate values and weather data, this is a fairly apples-to-apples comparison of pure bike performance. No surprise here, the 700c wheels are larger, the frame a little lighter and the tread pattern less aggressive. Exactly what I was hoping the Valencia would deliver.
• Saddle: Still fairly comfortable which is still surprising to me. The Valencia has the Bontrager Nebula saddle which has a slightly wider rear section that must be playing a role here. My commute involves some pretty decent hills so this is good news on the days where I’m not interested in hopping out of the saddle (or the weather’s bad and that isn’t a reasonable option).

• Looks: Yes, I’m about to become superficial. But folks, this is a good looking bicycle. After braving the gusty winds I stopped by BikeWorld (which is conveniently on my way home) and had them install a black kickstand I’d ordered. Several employees and a few customers remarked how much they liked the look of the bike. A proud moment for me!

Some factors combined to limit me to one bicycle commute to work this week. I’m hoping to be back on my regular schedule soon (three bike days per week).

Valencia Ride #3, then, should be right around the corner!