The bike:
I showed up for the Donuts bunch ride on the Tuesday before the Epic . Steve Webster, Graceville Bike Hub sales guru, is there riding a swish new carbon Ridley, a demo bike from the distributor. In a jokey kind of way, I said: “I’m riding the Epic on Sunday, what have you got for me to ride?” And to my astonishment, Steve offers me a carbon Orbea hardtail.
So then I had to decide whether I’m going to jump off my lovely Haro dual-susser, which would give me an armchair ride all day, or go with the hard-core lightweight machine which will no doubt be much faster on the hills, but also beat me up a lot more on the rough stuff.
So I decide on the go-fast Orbea, and spending the next couple of days second-guessing my decision.
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