In July, my employer signed up to Cyclescheme, a way of buying a bicycle from your pre-tax salary in monthly instalments and saving between 40-50% off the cost of a new bike. I'd been after a new bike for ages but couldn't quite justify the cost given that my old Halfords hybrid bike still worked, even though it was a bit cheap and had a tendency to misbehave. After having researched and thought it through for some time I had already decided I wanted a road bike and after chatting with the good folks at Street Life I went and got myself a Specialized Allez Sport Triple:
As a novice to drop handlebars, skinny tyres and the much higher riding position I was a little nervous on day one but soon got used to it and now wouldn't dream of riding anything else. Compared to my old hybrid it's lighter, more responsive and has a much better gear ratio - even in top gear I'm still able to pedal at a decent rpm without having my legs whizz round like a lunatic. I also find I'm enjoying cycling a whole lot more and have just started up a lunchtime cycle from work to get my stamina up in preparation for some much longer rides I plan to do next year. However the main advantage of the Allez on a day-to-day basis is that I'm now even faster getting to/from work. I can comfortably reach home by bike quicker than I would have by car:
This was my previous best run home from work on a windy day in May with a 20.5mph average hitting a max speed of 30.1mph:
And my best since getting the new bike, 23.2 mph average, 32.7mph max (I've since reached 33.4 on the same route):
