Road Bike vs Mountain Bike?

So how did my first cycle as a "roadie" go?  In one word, fantastic!  Here I am all set up and ready to go:

Off to Ride the Road Bike

Pre Cycle Breakfast

All the training that I have been putting in on the mountain bike means that I was more than prepared for the morning ride on a road bike for the first time.  I was in fact over prepared. Thinking that I would be cycling 50 km I made sure I wasn't going to run out of energy by waking up at 530 am and having peanut butter toast and a glass of electrolyte water before I set off.  I also took along more electrolyte water and a bag of nuts and dates for sustenance along the way.



What I loved about the road bike:

It literally sang along the road, moving smoothly along with so much less effort than one has to expend on a mountain bike on the road.

After the long descent...

We cycled mainly  in the local National Park.  The roads are fairly free of cars (I think we were passed by maybe 5 cars on the entire ride) and teeming with cyclists.  It really was a beautifully scenic ride so I can't say that riding on the trails is much more beautiful.

Climbing the 6km  ascent out after a pretty steep decent was so much easier than any other 6 km climb that I have done on my mountain bike in the past, I managed to hold a conversation with one of the other ladies the whole way up the hill, instead of "just breathing" as I do when I cycle with The Cyclist.

What I found different:

I don't feel "as safe" on it as I do on my mountain bike.  It feels like a slight bump or stick on the road could cause a burst tyre or some other disaster and  cause me to go flying!

The manoeuvrability is obviously not the same.  The mountain bike feels like it can "turn on a tickie" while the road bike lacks the same ability to turn around.

Ideally, I can now see that road bikes are the best option for the road - sorry to all my mountain biker friends out there! - and mountain bikes are naturally better suited for off road.  As I like doing both (at the moment) a new addition to the family may be necessary.  Or perhaps I could use The Cyclists road bike for road rides as he always uses his mountain bike? (except when he cycled 622 km in one day).

This said, I still love the mountain bike and the fun of actually getting off the road.  After my road ride I still felt strong and as I had only done just over 31km - not 50km as advertised! - I was more than up for another cycling outing, off road this time.

We took the kids on a beautiful mountain bike trail, doing a 10km loop.  Unfortunately, super hot - 31 degrees - so at times they were pretty unimpressed and grumpy but very pleased with themselves when they got to the end.

I'll definitely be taking the roadie out for another ride before I return it to Cyclery Northside, if it is just to improve my Strava time on certain segments!



What do you eat before exercise?

Do you drink electrolyte water?

Would you have more than one bicycle?  Which would you choose if you could have only one?