It's a Boy!

My wife's water broke on my birthday, August 29.  For nine months what seemed like a dream was about to become true: we would have our first child — and he would be born on my birthday of all days!  Unfortunately, we didn't know her water broke.  Believe it or not, things aren't as obvious as the movies make it out to be.  I won't get into the details, but I'll just say it was so non-obvious that we didn't even visit the hospital until Sunday afternoon.  24 hours of screaming, crying, and a Labor-day (ironic) c-section later, a cycling legend was born: Elias Jacob Simmonds

From the moment I heard his sweet first cry, I knew things were going to be different.  True to his genes, his legs are strong as can be and he feels the need to show off his ability to flail them every time I try to change his diaper... for a newborn this is about 5-10 times a day, so it has given him ample opportunity to catapult a S$%#^-filled bag off the changing table and onto the carpet.  Diaper and feeding responsibilities aside, having a son is the coolest feeling I've ever experienced.  Here is a glimpse of day 1 at home:

For all my instagram followers, prepare thyself for more baby pictures.  I promise I'll still take a crappy photo of something I just ate, too, but baby pictures are definitely going to hold a prominent position in my albums.  Now one question some of my peers may be asking is "how do you balance riding/racing and having a kid and being married and having a job and paying taxes and...?"  Well, let's just say that for my birthday and in celebration of a healthy baby boy, I got an appropriately colored toy.  Meet the Trek Crockett (which I'm pretty sure is just short for "Crotch Rocket").

What is this bright pastel contraption you may ask.  Well, in one of my first sleepless nights I finally found a comfortable stance on how much I should be racing, and what types of races I should be doing.  With a newborn a full-time job and a wife in her last year of medical school, training for road racing is next to impossible...so let's just ride for fun, right? A fun bike [for me] means a jack-of-all trades.  Commuter.  Cross Racer.  Century steed.  Lunch ride.  KOM snatcher.  So I opted for a cross bike with disc brakes to handle the crap weather we get in winter and to get a little better control on Birmingham's many crazy descents and turns.  Let's talk about the build.

Frame: 54cm Trek Crockett Disc Limited Edition Cyan

Wheels: Reynolds Stratus Disc Pro (1550 grams)

Drive train: Shimano Alfine Di2 1x11 Shift/Brake Set, Ultegra 6870GS Di2 Rear D, Ultegra 11-speed 11-32 cassette, Shimano CX70 crank 1x46t w/Paul Components guide

Brakes: TRP Spyre w/140mm rotors

Handling: Bontrager Race XXX Lite bars/seatpost/stem

Saddle: SDG Limited Edition Colorways Full Ti

Tires: Continental Grand Prix 4 Season gatorskins for commuting

And pictures:

The Alfine shifters pre-empted Sram's CX 1x11, and have a much better feel IMHO.  The right is dedicated Di2, the left is dedicated brake lever.  Both have a little anodized blue plate that just so happens to match the bike!

The 11-32 cassette and long-range derailleur really make the bike complete.  With the 46 up front, the range is good for climbing and descending - and outgears most 1X setups accomplished on a road cassette.

Shimano's dedicated 1X CX crank gives a clean look when paired with Paul's sturdy guide.  I may change to a seat-tube mounted battery to make things even cleaner in the near future, but for now the external battery is much easier to reach for charging :)

This saddle was made for this bike!!!

The flatter profile of the Race XXX Lite bars gives much needed compliance for cross/backroads, and also a comfortable hand position for long road rides and aerodynamics for the front of the pack

Last, but certainly not least, the disc-specific rims are a dedicated approach to this setup, saving weight and creating a mud-friendly profile.  The TRP's are simple, strong, and innovative in their dual-piston action for mechanicals...why mechanical? Because it twerks (it works).Can stop will stop.

So what does this mean for my Madone and for road racing? Maybe a parting of paths, we'll see.  For $2400 its yours with a power meter.  Having seen the offerings for Eurobike, I think we can be pretty certain that discs will make their way into UCI/USAC sanctioned road races before long, and I'll find a way to race my Crockett.  Note: that's Johnny Brown on my wheel in this pic... he's headed to the World Championships this month, continuing the legend of his older brother and dad. Crazy the people you meet/compete against racing in the southeast!

As a wrap: It's a boy. It's a bike.  It's about time I got some rest.