The relationship between a cyclist and bicycle is not unlike a marriage. Many scoff at the concept, but when you’re relying on a piece of machinery powered by your legs to take you 100 miles in a day and it’s the only thing between you and the pain of pavement at 50 miles per hour, you better feel like you know it intimately and you can trust it intimately.

I’ve not made any bones about the fact that the “new” bike I have, a used Bianchi, hasn’t been my ideal bike. Part of that has to do, I think, with the fact that I had two Cannondales (both legendarily stiff aluminum frames with lightweight aluminum forks) before this bike, which is steel all the way. But we’re getting closer and working together better as time goes on.

I’ve now taken the Bianchi out on about six short (10-15 mile) rides and two midlength (20-25 mile) rides. Tomorrow I’ll likely do the same again, then go for a 40 mile ride on Monday (which is a vacation day for me). This isn’t exactly in the order of my training schedule, but it’s what I have in front of me.

However, when I got it the Bianchi was basically stock (except for some absolutely atrocious plastic pedals), and I don’t fit stock bikes well. Bike fit is critical–a poorly fitting bike is at best uncomfortable and at worst causes injury–so I had to buy some new parts (or at least install some old ones I had around) when I got it. A few changes like a taller stem, wider bars, new pedals, and a longer seatpost made it much more to my liking, but I’ve been getting used to the Campagnolo Ergopower shifting (call me old school–I prefer friction shifting bar ends) and braking. When coming down a hill over 30 miles an hour, it’s pretty important you be able to know how much pressure to apply to bring yourself to a graceful stop, and when grinding up a hill it’s nice to be able to tell without looking how many more cogs you have to go until you’re at the lowest gear. I did both of those today, and I’m beginning to trust my safety to this bike–which I have to do.

We’re adjusting to each other. I’m more comfortable on the bike than I’ve been, and I hope that continues. We’ll see how I feel after forty mile Monday.