This week saw probably the biggest step forward, in that i did at last order a bike. Yip i did it. I had been told that a friend of a friend could do whatever i wanted for the same price as an off the peg bike. In typical italian fashion this turned out not to be the case. The friends friend is a third generation bike builder, the company was founded by his grandad in 1930 in Padova round the corner from our flat, and is called BERMA.
I was after a hand made steel frame so it fitted perfectly and also its comfort. However it transpires it is more expensive to have a steel frame made than aluminum or carbon fiber because there is little market for it over here. The next thing is to get bits that look exactly how you want is really difficult. i was wanting retro chrome accessories and brown saddle etc but now everything is black or white unless you spend a fortune. Plus the frame isn't made to fit, the bike is, so it's a stock frame with components adjusted to fit. the good side of that is unlike an off the peg bike i won't have to change anything and if i do it's included in the price. But maybe the best bit is the groupset is all Campagnolo Veloce. The reason this is good apparently is that off the peg bikes such as Bianchi and Specialized swap the cogs and chains and other not so visible parts to save money but it also affects efficiency and reliability.
So in summary it's sky blue with with some black wheels and a white saddle.
this is a big foot rather than big step.....
Another cracking week on the training front. First session in the 8's on intensity and even managed to shave of a few minutes on my long run to Teolo however a bit low overall on the intensity as the TRX sessions have been a bit pants but hey ho can re focus on those next week plus the weight loss has been a bit rubbish but now that Fritelle season is over i can concentrate more fully.
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