Finally tried the new stuff

I received my new pedals and aero bars in the mail on Friday and assembled them, but I didn't get a chance to try either until tonight. We just got home from Easter weekend and I had some caffeine on the road to keep myself awake, so I decided to try to burn it off on the trainer. I am quite happy with both products. The pedals seem pretty easy to engage and they hold well, even in a standing sprint, and the aero bars are super comfortable, better than expected. These were the cheapest aero bars I could find, so the fact that I like them this well is kind of surprising. I was hoping to find them better than my makeshift drop bars I had been using for the Spinervals rides, but I am quite impressed with the comfort and fit. I guess they are heavier than some others, and the shifters are still where they used to be, but I'll live. I did a variety of experiments with the "flat back" vs. the "cat back," which is a debate about aero positioning I found on Friel's blog that Matt posted recently, and I am leaning heavily toward the cat back, despite Joe's advice. I mentioned previously that my gut makes the flat back rather uncomfortable anyway, but when my hips are tilted forward, I don't feel like I can get the cranking power that I get with them tilted back. It's also much less painful on "the area." At any rate, I am excited to take these new toys out on the road and see how everything goes. I felt much smoother on the trainer pedaling in a circle. Giving all those new muscles a chance to participate seems like it's going to be brilliant. I think 33km/hr is within reach now. Fellow Clydesdales, beware.