The Woes of Cycling

Without a doubt the worst part about riding a bike are the mechanical issues. In just the last 10 days I've had more problems with tubes and tires than I've had for the past 5 months! I don't blame it on anything but chance and a little stupidity. My first flat was just that, a flat. Bad luck. No big deal. I'm sure it was because the tires I came here with were/are crap (Performance Brand El Cheapos. Note to self: never to be purchased again!) and I had the pressure a bit too high for them. A carpenter's staple was the source of flat number two. More bad luck. But I remained relatively levelheaded. The third one, though, occurred because I didn't quite get the entire staple removed from the tire. At this point I was ready to throw my bike at the monkeys that had congregated and made fun of me. When I first got here, I thought they were cute little creatures but now I hate them all! (But check out this video! http://www.teamtbb.com/angelanaeth. In all, I'm down three tubes and two CO2 cartridges. Not bad. But not good. The best part, I guess, is that I'm getting plenty of practice changing a flat. Maybe in the future it will save a race or two!

Since then, I've had only minor things go wrong: my front derailleur cable snapped, my rear cassette rattled loose after some rough hill climbing, and my gearing has been out of whack from the get-go. But thanks to Azmil any problems with the bike are easily reversed! He works harder than any bike mechanic I've ever met. And fast too. You go into the shop and within minutes you're back on your bike. So much for a nice rest!

One other fix wasn't so much a repair as it was an upgrade. I've swapped out my seat to one of those funky-looking Adamo ones. So far, I absolutely love it. No chaffing in the areas that require the utmost care! Last November, at 70.3 World's, I was in dire agony during the run because this very thing happened on the bike. I dread to imagine what things would be like in a full Ironman! Thank goodness I'm making the changes I need to now, because rumour has it, I'll be doing one sooner than anticipated!