On Getting Enough Sleep

As I mentioned earlier I had a crash on Erin as a result of a cracked fork. In fact the crash was significantly less harmful than I first thought. It turns out that while scuffed Erin's frame is at least, okay to ride. I still need to spend a significant amount, replacing bars, leavers and such, but I will be able to ride Erin, probably gently, for years still. In short rumors of Erins untimely demise have been greatly exaggerated. This is good and bad, well almost entirely good news, except I really better not push her too hard. She did endure a horrible crash and I don't want to find out for example, that the right chain stay cracked while zooming along at 70km/h down Kennedy Road at Bloomington (around 50km from home). Still, a bike is a horrible thing to waste, sort of like a car being a horrible thing to make!

At this point I really should make a shout out to Malcolm. Quite possibly the most unknown yet most competent bike mechanic in Toronto, Malcolm the owner of Biseagal, used to race, he told me once of a race he did from Montreal to Quebec city (about 300km). Because UCI rules require that races not exceed 238km the start was rolling and the race did not officially commence for about 50km, up to that point there was a pace car in front doing about 45km/h. The pelaton, about 250 strong - in a single, very long pace line - did a steady +50km/h. At one point Malcolm stopped for a natural break. He was able to get back in before the last support car passed, and after 11 minutes of steady 60km/h managed to catch up with the last guy in the pack. Ultimately he came in 27th place overall.

Okay, so Malcolm is fast. He is also about the most anal retentive mechanic I have ever met. It took the two of us about five hours to upgrade Erin from Ultegra to Dura-Ace, not that he is slow when he is off the saddle, just very meticulous. Frankly when I am hammering down a hill at 80km/h I don't want to wonder, "will my brake caliper snap off when I reach the bottom?" In that sense Malcolm is a great mechanic to know and after no small amount of searching I feel I have finally found someone who I can trust to perform those jobs that we take for granted until suddenly our lives depend on their handiwork (actually all too often we take the work of a skilled mechanic for granted even when we put our lives in their hands, a sharp turn taken at speed, an emergency stop and so on.)

I won't mention names here but when I say the fork broke let me elaborate a little on Erin's recent history. Several months ago I noticed that the bolt in Erin's top cap was recessed quite a bit. I decided to take Erin to a bike shop in the east end that deals with Specialized a lot, I figured, Erin is Specialized, better to get someone who specializes in Specialized to fix a Specialized! (I have just decided, specialized is a cacophonous term!)

Anyway I show Erin to the store manager, he removes the top cap and tells me her fork is cracked, I need a new fork. Alright, I am about to spend a lot of money so I haggle with the guy and he gives me a new stem as well, all carbon fiber. On repairing Erin the mechanic at the store determines my head set is toast, bearings, top cap, the works, so I'm set back a new head set as well as a fork, stem and labour.

About a month later I notice a small scratch on the left hand side of Erin's new fork, running perhaps a centimeter from the point where the fork meets the head tube and stearing tube down towards the brake callipers. No big deal, probably just a scuff from the mechanic who installed the fork. Those guys work too fast and generally make a mess of things. A few weeks later Erin goes to Malcolm who installs a shiny new Dura-Ace 7900 group with me watching, learning what I can. We get to the front brake, I try to remove the old washer that held the calliper in, I cannot. Malcolm tries to remove the washer and cannot. Eventually he says to me, "well it doesn't really matter which washer you use, and that one is not going anywhere, just leave the washer in and attach the new brake to the old washer".

After Erin's fork broke, I took the remains back to the store in the east end. Later they told me that the busted fork would not be covered by warranty because I installed the front washer improperly.

For anyone who needs a bike mechanic, I am very happy to recommend Biseagal, in a huge warehouse on the west side of Carlaw between Dundas and Gerrard. (No I am not getting any sort of kick back, Malcolm does not need that, neither do I.) But if you want a job done right see someone who knows what they are doing, not someone who acts like they know what they are doing.

Finally the UCI has announced the schedule for the 2010 road racing season, there will be two events in Canada both in Quebec, both late in the season. If next year is like this year I will feel sorry for the guys that compete. The race will be like the Paris-Roubaix, cold and wet, but without all the history, oh well, I guess more glory for the winner.

1. 19.01.2010 24.01.2010 Tour Down Under, Australia
   
2. 07.03.2010 14.03.2010 Paris - Nice, France,
   
3. 10.03.2010 16.03.2010 Tirreno-Adriatico, Italy
   
4. 20.03.2010 20.03.2010 Milano-Sanremo, Italy
   
5. 22.03.2010 28.03.2010 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Spain
   
6. 28.03.2010 28.03.2010 Gent - Wevelgem, Belgium
   
7. 04.04.2010 04.04.2010 Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des landres, Belgium
   
8. 05.04.2010 10.04.2010 Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, Spain
   
9. 11.04.2010 11.04.2010 Paris - Roubaix, France
   
10. 18.04.2010 18.04.2010 Amstel Gold Race, Netherlands
    
11. 21.04.2010 21.04.2010 La Flèche Wallonne, Belgium
    
12. 25.04.2010 25.04.2010 Liège - Bastogne - Liège, Belgium
    
13. 27.04.2010 02.05.2010 Tour de Romandie, Switzerland
    
14. 08.05.2010 30.05.2010 Giro d'Italia, Italy
    
15. 06.06.2010 13.06.2010 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, France
    
16. 12.06.2010 20.06.2010 Tour de Suisse, Switzerland
    
17. 03.07.2010 25.07.2010 Tour de France, France
    
18. 31.07.2010 31.07.2010 Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian - San Sebastian, Spain
    
19. 01.08.2010 07.08.2010 Tour de Pologne, Poland
    
20. 15.08.2010 15.08.2010 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Germany
    
21. 17.08.2010 24.08.2010 Eneco Tour, Belgium
    
22. 22.08.2010 22.08.2010 GP Ouest France - Plouay, France
    
23. 28.08.2010 19.09.2010 Vuelta a España, Spain
    
24. 10.09.2010 10.09.2010 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
    
25. 12.09.2010 12.09.2010 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
    
26. 16.10.2010 16.10.2010 Giro di Lombardia, Italy