2006 Kovjanic Custom - My road bike build and ride stories

[majklnajt]

Welcome! Dobrodošao!

Wery inspiring story that gives you to think about - is it really about the bike, weight, the look ... or is it really about the ride ..... ?

I like the bike, the story ... everything!!!!

Taking my hat off, my friend!!!
Prijatelju, skidam kapu!!!

[cybernck]

Everybody, thank you for such a warm welcome and positive comments.

It really gives me an inspiration to carry on!

[cybernck]

As said, the sickness had messed up my racing desires but I still managed to fulfill my plans for recreational rides.

13/Jun/2009 - back to Makarska with an idea to climb the Biokovo mountain by my road bike (I've done in the past both
by car and by my MTB). Starting at the sea-level - it's a 30 kilometer climb up to the St. Jure peak @ alt. of 1762 m,
out of which 29.5 km is uphill .




Half-way through:




Success!




A full set of photos here: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=6

[cybernck]

24/Jul/2009 - Another month - another hillclimb . This time I was in Medveja near Opatija (CRO),
climbimg Mt. Ucka. Starting from sea-level. It's about 6 kilometers of ups and downs and then,
again at sea-level, the constant 22 km climb begins. The summit is at alt. of 1401 m.




There are a few of these nasty sections along the way.




The summit reached!




Full set of photos: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=7

[cybernck]

Still back in 2009 - I finally managed to get this lovely pair of Spinergy Rev-X carbon
wheels from the UK - that I had bought a year and a half earlier! My vision is now fulfilled
(except the yellow tyres, but I couldn't be bothered to swap for red ones). They will only
be used for TT's and an occasional training ride.




Since I became a bit paranoid about my full-carbon fork (with a good reason),
I bought a Deda BlackForce2 carbon fork with alloy steerer.




And finally - Polar S725X heart rate monitor with speed and cadence sensors.
It measures, monitors and records for further analysis everything I've ever
wanted to know about my rides!




This sums up the year 2009 - roll on 2010!


Full size photos: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=7

[cybernck]

2010 - Started off well, with running, gym and turbo trainer sessions and late winter rides as well.




The training continued. It was still early in the season but I was getting into good shape.




17/Apr/10 - Cycling race in Belgrade. Serbian national cup race with 85 riders in all categories.
It was a very pleasant experience. The finish was on top of a small mountain Avala, I came in
19th (out of 85) overall and 2nd in the amateur class!




May 2010 - everything was going so well until I accidentally badly sprained my ankle in a gym!
It turned out I damaged the ligaments and had to have a cast put on, which meant the end of
this year's season for me .




Nearly 3 months later, I started cycling again, with everything I've worked for gone and hopes
for a better season next year. That's it for 2010 :-/.




Full size photos: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=8

[wisgliebau]

Very inspiring build and story! I can't wait to hit the road hard again come next season. I hope you continue to ride exactly as you wish! Also, red and yellow are awesome colors in combination, good choice. Cheers!

-Gregory

[cybernck]

Fast forward to the year 2011!




I got some new winter gear. Scott Authentic winter bib-tights. They're good, but you
definitely need to order a size up from your bib-shorts. BBB Hardwear waterproof
overshoes - pretty warm and water repellent.



Crud Roadracer mk2 mudguards - a very useful thing, providing they fit your bike.
Pieces tend to fall off when riding on rough roads. Luckily spares are available on
Crud website.


After 5 years of riding this bike and altering my riding position, I figured out it would've
been spot on if I got a shorter stem, so I got a 10 cm ITM Millenium 4ever stem to replace
my old 13 cm ITM Millenium stem.




Shock horror!




Just a Sunday ride .




Here I am, with a weight-weenie Fondriest of a friend of mine.




Full size photos: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[cybernck]

2/Jun/2011 - Hillclimb National Championship in pouring rain.

I was fastest up the hill in Elite category, as well as in the general placement.



On the top of the podium .



It was a sweet victory as I wasn't really expecting it to come, having my mind and body
focused on the upcoming Time Trial National Championship race.




Full size photos: http://photos.cybernck.com/kovjanic?page=10

[Powerful Pete]

Congratulations!

[majklnajt]

Congrats!!!!!!!
Well done!!!

[kgt]

A hillclimb national champion on a 9kg bike in our ww forum! I love it!

[ajmit3]

Well done on your impressive results. Well done on the Serbian national cup race in 2010 and the hill climb in 2011.... It is the RIDER not the bike....

How is the racing scene in Bosnia and Serbia ? I would be interested to know ? In Australia road biking has really become very popular and you see loads of 'roadies' on the roads all the time .... Though the number of people properly 'racing' is still small in comparison to the whole road bike community. (mind you in St Kilda critieums there were about 200 people racing across the whole A,B,C,D,E grades last weekend)

I have visited Serbia in 2009 and Bosnia in 2005 - I didn't see many cyclists then ?

[lcoolb]

Congratulations! Truly inspirational thread, great stories and beautiful photos!

[cybernck]

Thanks for the praise and comments! I'm glad you're enjoying my story. There's more to come .

I also enjoy the fact I left many riders on full carbon bikes behind me .

In Bosnia, "bicycle" seems to be a synonym for "mountain bike", so there are very few roadies on the roads.
It's a bit better in Serbia and much better in Croatia, but still nowhere near the other European countries.
Mind you, that makes us roadies a somewhat "special" kind of people .