Toward the end of March I brought my bike in to Charlie at Mt. Pedaler here in town to get a new chain and a general check-up. While he had it, he also cleaned it for me. (Thanks!) When I went in to pick it up, I was taking it out of the shop and leaned it up against a clothes rack while I stopped to talk to someone. When I came back to it, I was looking it over, and noticed a thin marking on the left chainstay.... Looked like a crack to me. I called Charlie over and asked him to look at it, and he says, "Yep, I didn't even see that, but sure looks like it's cracked to me!" YIKES!!!
What am I going to do? I don't have enough money to buy a new road bike, and am not too excited about having to ride a bike that has a cracked chainstay..... Never know when it's just gonna split, and down I go! Charlie says to me, "Your prolly not going to be able to get a new one, since it's been raced before." At this point I just sadly resign to the fact that I will either be riding a broken road bike, or not be riding at all (since the mountains were still covered in snow). Soooo of course I choose to keep riding the bike for the time being. That night I placed a call to my good friend Matt of
Wheelfast Bicycle Company, explained to him the scenario, and he in turn asked me to send him some pics of it. He tells me that if it is a crack he may be able to get the frame replaced.... At this point my heart skips a couple o' beats, and I'm like, "really??" So I take the pics, send them to him and a couple days later he calls me back and say's these oh so magical words, "I have a new '09 Tarmac Pro frame on the way, all you need to do is tear your bike apart and ship me the frame, and yours will be out as soon as I get it in the shop."
(My trusty steed, oh how sad I am to see you go!) :( You served me well for the 25,000 miles or so that we had together.) Gracias!
YAHOOOOO!!!!! Not only am I getting a new frame, I am getting a near the top of the line bike! A bike that is 4 years newer than my previous model, and much lighter and stiffer. A slightly lesser frame than the one Big Tom Boonen rides! WoW! I am pumped! I immediately begin salivating over the thought, and for the next week I cannot stop thinking about it and looking up and reading reviews on the new bike that I am getting.
Another friend from Springfield, Justin had just gotten the same bike and was sending me messages on Facebook telling me how awesome it was! The frame was delivered to school, and when I saw the FedEx truck pull up, I left my class to run up to the office to take the delivery. (my kids knew why I left class.....) When I took it out of the box, my heart was racing, and my mouth was dry (yah, I've seen nice new bikes before, but they were never mine!) The kids in my class all had to touch it and hold it and were amazed by how light the frame was. I weighed the frame and for a 58cm frame it was 1.8 lbs. WOW! I had Charlie put it together for me, and the complete bike came in at about 18.2 lbs.... :( That is mainly cause my drivetrain and components are also old and heavy. Oh well, I will take 18 lbs on a new bike any day!
Now that I have put some time on it, about 300 miles, I can say that I absolutely love it! It is amazingly stiff and responsive, and it corners unbelievably well! It has a tapered head tube that is absolutely huge and helps with stable cornering at speed. I got the white brake cables put on for the pimp factor!
When I went to the shop to pick it up all Charlie could say was, "it's amazing how fat those tubes are!" And they are! He informed me that his road bike weighed in at 14.8 lbs, but he also has Sram Red and other top components on a size S bicycle. His bike would not be near as stiff as this one! Since that time I have gotten many more compliments on how cool this bike looks. I am looking forward to many more awesome rides on this trusty steed, and hopefully some quality race results!
The huge bottom bracket to help with stiffness for sprinting and explosive efforts! I can't even get my two fingers around the down tube. And the chainstays are super wide, and the seat stays are amazingly skinny.
Overall, a VERY AWESOME BICYCLE! and all I can say is Thanks, Matt! You are truly awesome! Let me know when there is something that I can do for you! Also, thanks to
Specialized, you have created a loyal customer!
All the bikes laying on the ground outside the Dusty Boot in Eagle, CO. This is where Natalie works a couple days a week. Truly a beautiful sight with all the bikes!
Showing the true Hippy Spirit. This bike was pretty awesome!! Lots o' color!
Natalie and I and Mike and Emily at Broadway Grill in Eagle. By this time I was getting chilly and had to put on some long sleeves!
The infamous Jeffie also joined us on this little escapade of ours. This pic is in front of Grand Avenue Grill. We left here early to go grab a good seat and a bite to eat at the Dusty Boot.
Got the tan lines going on already this year again.... Ok, I know.... my shorts may be a little long, but whatcha gonna do???? Earlier in the day, these shorts were actually my favorite pair of jeans, but hey, when you need an outfit, I guess ya need and outfit...... Now I kind of miss them I guess.....
Another pic of the lovely Natalie and I at Yeti's Grind Coffee Shop. This is where the Pub Crawl began. I think at this point we were still unaware of the madness that was about to take place that would be known as Eagle Pub Crawl 2009. Thanks to all the pubs that made this possible, and to the town of Eagle for sponsoring this event. We'll be back next year!
