The Morning After

Remember back in college when you hooked up with the hot girl you always had a crush on and you thought it was the start of a storybook relationship? Then when you saw her at the bookstore or on campus the next day she acted like she barely knew who you were and it sent daggers through your heart?

Well, I just had that experience with Eric, our maintenance class instructor. When he made the fitting adjustments for me on Monday, he asked me to e-mail him with how it felt after I rode. I e-mailed on Wednesday that it felt great but that I was coming over the top a bit and maybe it was that my cleats needed to be moved forward on my shoes – I asked for his opinion and also if they had cleat replacements since mine were shot. No response. I called the shop the next day to ask if they have the cleat replacements. Yes, we have one more they say. They begrudgingly agree to hold them for me (in the back area where Eric works) after I tell them I’m in the maintenance class.

When I visited the shop on Thursday to get the cleats it was like Eric barely knew me. He is so animated during the class and now he was like a robot. I asked a few questions about the fit and he was going about his business giving me a few “uhu”'s and “right”'s. Pure blowoff lingo. I felt used but then again, it may be a bike shop, but it’s an NYC bike shop.

Last night when I rode the fit suddenly felt awkward. Was it a reflection of my interaction with Eric? Who knows. What I do know is my shifting started getting weird and I was losing power. I moved my seat around a bit. Still issues. This sucks. BANG. My cassette (back wheel gear sprocket) explodes into pieces. I replaced my cassette on Wednesday and apparently I didn’t tighten the lockscrew enough. I fixed the wheel when I got home but who knows if it’s defective/will come off again?

Now I have three issues for Saturday’s ride, which is a brutal 85 mile climbfest. First, I haven’t had a serious ride in two weeks (I was in Vegas last weekend for a bachelor party and have been super busy at work). Second, I’m still not 100% confident in my bike fit. Third, I have a potentially defective untested back wheel that could come undone at anytime.

Ain’t cycling grand?