Expert Bike Mechanic.

On Sunday, July 2nd, I rebuilt my crit bike. I installed bling-tastic aero carbon handlebars, a carbon stem, new brakes calipers, and all sorts of odds and ends. The frame once belonged to Nate Brown when he rode for the Bontrager-Trek development team. 
  
On Monday, July 3rd, Nate, now riding for Cannondale-Drapac on the UCI ProTour, pulled on the polka dot jersey at the Tour de France.
  
Man, I'm a great bike wrench. You're welcome, Nate.
  
Actually, I just got tired of looking at the once proud bike sitting in a heap, cannibalized for parts during moments of bike-wrenching-procrastination-induced panic. I hope this will recharge the amount of Win™ present in the bike. I'm sure Nate used up a large amount of the available Win™ before it was passed over to me, but with the handlebars and stem I have made a substantial addition to the amount of carbon fiber present in the bike. Carbon fiber=Win™, or so every major bike manufacturer tells us.
  
At any rate, I am indirectly responsible for Nate's accomplishment, and will be waiting by my mailbox for a very large check.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sad

Recently a judge accepted a plea deal. A drunk and stoned young woman backed over a local cyclist, then drove away while he died without rendering aid in any way. This is not in dispute by anyone, on any side of the courtroom. She received 1 year and 10 days in jail.   I've tried to wrap my head around this from any number of directions, and it just makes me sad. Not for her. As far as I'm concerned, she has no place in society anymore. This is not her tragedy, as much as the defense tried to paint it that way while deflecting blame to the victim. I've harbored evil fantasies of vengeance that I'm not at all ashamed of. So much ink has been thrown out there about this that I'll just include a couple links to provide a more complete picture for those of you who haven't followed the story: http://www.adn.com/article/20150812/prosecutor-teen-used-drugs-alcohol-hit-and-run-collision-killed-cyclist http://www.adn.com/article/20150819/anchorage-teen-receives-1-y...
Read more

Perhaps Where I need to Be.

  The last time I was in Biloxi was in November of 2016. I was recovering from a broken collar bone, but otherwise was relatively fit, lean, and getting fitter and leaner. Because I had nothing else to do and energy to burn, I rode a lot. It was wasted effort that translated into burnout during the trainer season, but I really didn't care. I hadn't been riding at all. A handful of road rides before the season ended. A couple fat bike rides when the trails near my house were packed well. Mostly I've hiked, cross-country skied, and sat on my fat ass. Primarily the latter. I knew I was going to be spending the month of February in Biloxi. I swore I was going to get back on the trainer in preparation, but I never did. I came in cold. I packed all sorts of warmers and raingear and stuff that I have yet to use.I forgot all sorts of tools. My tires were excessively worn and my tubes weren't in great shape either. I ended up buying new ones after a horrible first ride led to 4 ...
Read more

No FOMO.

Ever since I fell down, something interesting happened.    I don't frequent Facebook as much anymore. I don't spend time scrolling through other people's posts, scared that I might miss something important. Facebook isn't important.    I don't visit cycling websites obsessively, mainly because it reminds me I can't ride myself at the moment.   If I do get on the interweb, it's to look up parts for the RV or look for how-to articles/videos. Nothing about the bike.   I've even stopped listening to NPR as I drive to work, but that has more to do with the constant stream of negativity that characterizes the world at the moment. Without my daily dose of endorphins to blunt the onslaught and put it into perspective, I find I just can't deal with it at the moment.   I have no fear of missing out, because I've opted to ignore the world for the moment and concentrate all of my energies into a smaller space where I ha...
Read more