After picking up the new 'cross bike last night, I was too excited not to ride it in to work today. Even though it's slower, I left on the knobby tires so that I could give some of the dirt a try next to the W&OD.

I had to leave on time this morning in order to meet Will on the trail. I still left a tiny bit late though, and so I didn't end up meeting him till the Vienna Depot. He joked that the only other time he'd come to meet me in the morning was the day I got hit by the car. Since he hadn't run in to me yet, he was starting to worry if I'd suffered the same fate. I hadn't.

We rode alongside each other chatting and I had a hard time holding the pace he was setting with road wheels. But at the same time I was surprised how fast the bike really could go even with knobby tires on it. We started gaining on this one road rider and we couldn't help but try to dust him. I think on a road bike it would have been a piece of cake, but today it hurt. My stomach wasn't feeling so hot and I started having shifting issues with the 'cross bike. It kept skipping out of gear under pressure--almost like an automatic transmission might work. Evenutally though, we were clear of him and I could breathe normally again--all while Will was laughing about how this was his one chance to put the hurt in me. I showed him the beautiful new underpass at Church Rd. and then he made the turn for his home and I continued on to Orbital.

On the way home, I left a bit early from work and went in search of any and all off-road sections of the W&OD. I hammered with all I had up and down some hills I never thought I could ride on a 'cross bike. My nerves were a little be up but I handled things a lot better on the slippery gravel than I ever did last year at Lilypons. I'm really amazed at how much better the Javelin handles things than the Sirrus did. I guess I shouldn't be, but part of me was wondering whether or not a real 'cross bike really would make much of a difference. Well, then jury's back and it does. A carbon fork makes things swell too.