Originally Posted by kingston

I completed the 400k on the Strada yesterday, which was overall a big success. I rode with my buddy John, who rides a carbon 700c Bacchetta and two other riders on uprights. We were able to average just under 15mph on the bike with a whopping 4 hours off the bike for a respectable 21 hour finish on a course that was hillier than I thought it was going to be.

My butt didn't bother me nearly as much as I feared it would so that was a pleasant surprise. I had three water bottle ejections so the lezyne side-loaders are a fail. Looking for something that is more secure, but a little easier to access the bottle than the Iris cages. I have some plastic elite race cages that I'll try next.

I had a low speed crash at 4 way stop in a small Wisconsin town, where a courteous driver and I both couldn't decide whether to stop or go, so gravity decided for me, I was able to unclip and get my foot down, but my heel slipped on the pavement and down I went. A little embarrassing and a sweet cat 5 tattoo with some blood accents on my calf for the rest of the ride.

The wheels and tires were great other than a pinch flat on the front when I hit a pothole on a descent in the dark and around 310k. Fortunately there was a streetlight at the bottom of the hill so I didn't have to change the tire in the dark.

Flat tally for the year so far:
* Bacchetta - 675 miles ridden - 2 flats
* All my other bikes combined - ~3,300 miles ridden - Zero flats

While I liked the recumbent a lot and can see the appeal, I've got 3-2 more brevets this season and plan to switch primarily back to the uprights to regain the saddle butt that I've undoubtedly lost over that past several of weeks that I've been riding the recumbent exclusively. I'll definitely keep the Strada in the rotation though.

Thanks all for your help getting this bike set up. It's been fun so far with more to come.