It was an interesting day. The sky was so blue and I was trapped in my cube… Then it rained, while I was at Fat Tire Farm waiting for my bike to be finished.
I picked up my new mountain bike tonight. I got a Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper FSR Carbon to replace my dearly departed (stolen!) Kestrel Rubicon Comp. I have mixed feelings about the new bike. On one hand, it is an incredible machine and I am sure that I will love it. On the other, I wish I had my Rubi. Such is life. One thing I must say is that the guys at Fat Tire kick ass. Tim, the manager, picked up where Mike left off and helped me get my bike taken care of. They talked to the insurance company, took care of my required replacement cost estimate, made the changes I needed, etc, etc, etc. Tim listened to me and adapted to my style and desires. Case in point: I wanted a Chris King wheelset like I used to have. The S-Works comes with a Mavic wheelset. Don’t get me wrong. It was a very nice wheelset, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted Kings. Tim took care of it. I wanted black. Tim made sure everything was black: black hubs, black Mavic rims, black alloy nipples and black spokes. Everything. All without me having to specifically request each and every part. I needed a longer stem. Done. A different crankset (175s trash my knees). A set of 170s appeared. All of the way through the process, Fat Tire Farm did everything I needed them to do without BS, drama, or complaint. Mike kept reminding/prodding/nagging at me to turn everything in to insurance so I could get my bike. When I finally did, they got my bike into my hands in under 2 weeks. That time includeed a week of me being wishy-washy, ordering all of my special parts, building my wheels, installing and tuning.
I started rebuilding my Caonndale in earnest. I have had a few parts set aside for it, but I never bothered to put them on the frame or work to acquire any more. This week, I started doing just that. I bought a Chris King deevolution headset to drop my 1 1/4” headset down to the stardard 1 1/8th“. I bought tires and an XT front deraileur, then mounted my existing wheels, XTR V-Brakes on it, Titec Ti stem, Ritchey seatpost… I need pedals, cranks, handlebar, brake/shift controls, rear deraileur and a saddle. Another $400-$450 and it will be done. Not bad for a frameset that I have had for almost 10 years… It was my first ‘real’ mountain bike.
So, Yeah.
I’m happy. I miss my Kestrel, but it is gone. Hopefully, someone, somewhere can appreaciate what they have and ride that bike like it deserves to be riden. I really like this new bike. It is different and it still feels very strange under me. It will take time for me to adapt to it, but I will. When it dries out a bit, it will be time to hit the trail. Anyway…
The woman left for the East coast tonight. She has family on the ‘other’ coast and her Spring Break starts tonight. My new toy arrives at the same time my lover leaves for vacation. Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day, but I have plans that will keep me away from my two-wheeled passions. I have been trying to put together a group ride for Sunday. Unfortunately the forecast is for rain. So, I don’t expect that to happen. Oh well. I should stay home, (re)organize my office and gather my tax crap. That day is coming too quickly.
The cycles of life…
Death and rebirth.
Kestrel stolen and FSR Carbon delivered.
Weekend arrives and Woman flies away.
Blue skies and plans to be caged.
The phoenix rises again…
