Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Murphy's Law


Some things appear to be harder to move away from than others.  And one would have to wonder what the deeper message is.  So, first we'll go with the positives.  Yesterday was Labor Day and I was supposed to be racing but my procrastination may have saved me some serious pain.  Fortunately it turns out the race filled up before I could sign up for it so instead of having this happen during the bike leg of an olympic distance triathlon, I was about 20 minutes from home at an empty intersection waiting on a light to change.

Honestly, I'm not really sure what I should feel at this point other than thankful.  And basically the pictures say everything that needs to be said -- except for the fact that I have an awesome friend in Gioconda who says she still wants to ride with me after having to take a cab back from my first bike malfunction a couple of weeks ago.  Fortunately this time the only damage done this morning was her ride got cut short.  The first time she missed teaching a yoga class (if you are in Austin and want to give yoga a try, I highly recommend Gioconda especially if you ride a bike).  I think I'm going to take a couple of days off and ponder a few things while I get my bikes fixed and my head back in order.  

If you missed the other malfunctions I've experienced here is a visual list for you.


The tri bike.
The busted derailluer clamp on the road bike 
The busted racing goggles 
The rusted brake cable from the tri bike
The busted fistglove

8 comments:

Chuckie V said...

All these malfunctions remind me why I like hiking so much! Hang in there Ace.

-CV

cdnhollywood said...

My grandmother used to say that "Things always happens in threes." Can't think of a time when she was wrong, either.

Good luck abounds since you've got 3 done now.

(BTW, it's bad luck to be superstitions) :)

Keith said...

!!!!!
Holy Crap!
At this point I'm beginning to think you've got a lemon for a bike. Is it too late to take it back to where you bought it and say you want a new one?

Clint R. Murphy said...

Keep Going Ace!

it always sucks that we cause as much havoc as we do - last name is Murphy so it must have been one of my ancestors who started the curse ;-)

Side note, I know why I went for the triathlon, this P90 is damn Hard!

Fred (aka ace) said...

So I took the tri bike in and it looks like the fork will be replaced. The bike shop has a call in to Alpha Q, the fork manufacturer to determine what caused the failure. In the meantime, the shop has put a loaner fork on the tri bike so I have something to ride.

The other bike, my road bike had the derailleur hanger covered under warranty. It should be here either tomorrow or early next week so, I should be back up to two functioning bikes soon.

In the meantime I've been running, swimming and doing lots of yoga. My head is just about back to normal although looking at those pictures still gives me the creeps. Thanks for all the encouragement everyone.

Dave said...

It looks like you had the cap on the steer tube right on top of the stem. I built up a bike a couple months ago and had my bike mechanic buddy take a look at it before I rode it. Like you, I had the cap on top of the stem. Being that it was a carbon steertube, he advised me to put a spacer on top of the stem, and then the cap on top of that spacer. This would create more strength for the steertube and prevent the breakage. Just a thought. Good luck with the new fork! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
Cheers,
Dave

Fred (aka ace) said...

Hey, Dave thanks for the comment. I had my mechanic look at it too and he mentioned what you said about the spacer. But he also noted that Alpha Q uses a special glue in insert. The shop that built the bike for me appears to have not done either.

My lesson from all of this is if I buy another bike, I'll let my mechanic rebuild it after I get it from the shop.

-Brandon said...

Dave covered it. Carbon steerer tube = 1 spacer on top of the stem. It might not look the greatest, but it's safe.