You know, it ain't easy training for a 100 mile ride!

You guys think this is easy? This past weekend I went on a 35 mile "training" bike ride...that was only 1/3 the distance I'm supposed to do June 3rd; it took me almost THREE HOURS riding like crazy! I took my new bike that I bought around a month ago and have decided that for this long ride, I'm going to take my 10-speed pictured below:
If you want to know what my new bike looks like here is the link (with the correct color too!)

While the Passage 4.0 from Raleigh has front end and seat suspension, because of the way you sit you are upright with the wind in your chest making it hard to ride! The old "bone-shaker" 10-speed can go faster with less effort, thus I should finish sooner ...right?

Here's the breakdown on where the advantages are:

- Comfort - Raleigh (Passage 4.0): ...good for short rides, especially as this body ages.
- Speed - Volkcycle (Mark V) 10-speed racer: I ran both along the same course!
- Braking - Raleigh: It has new well-tuned brakes, top-notch!
- Wind resistance: "Bone-Shaker" has much less wind resistance easier to ride!
- Rolling resistance: "Bone-Shaker" wins again, thinner tires mean less work!
- Handling: Raleigh handles overall much better, but the 10-speed is more nimble on the road!
- Tire Safety: Raleigh has kevlar lined tires that resist puncture and flats, 10-speed? ...Naw!
- Gear ratio: Raleigh has 24 gears to my 10-speed which has well...you know...ten!
- Durability: I think because it's new the Raleigh has the edge here.

I did add an aero bar to the 10-speed so as to give my hands a rest, so that helps a bit. My hand stend to get numb during long rides on both bikes, in fact after the 35-miler my hands were still numb the next morning! I have a gel seat cover on my 10-speed and that certainly helps too! the Raleigh has a built-in gel seat that is wider too.

What are your thoughts? Which should I ride in the long race?

BTW: Many thanks to all who have sent in contribution towards donations for this Tour de Cure!