Bike Woes

Tomorrow is a big day in my bicycle racing career: the first multi-day race. For a variety of reasons this is a challenge, namely trying to balance how much energy I use in the first couple days so that on the final day I still have some legs left. To be honest, I'm just clawing in the dark so it will be interesting.

Unfortunately I received an unwelcome surprise today. I took my bike into a local shop to have them check my bottom bracket (the part the goes through the bike where the pedals are attached) because it was creaking. Fortunately everything was fine there and they got rid of the creak. Unfortunately, they told me my wheels are worn out and in desperate need of replacement. The crappiest news of all? Wheels are crazy expensive. This means my bike purchase isn't as good as I thought because I'll be spending a few hundred on new wheels. Super damn.

There is an upside, however, that makes what would normally be a super crappy situation only moderately crappy. Yesterday I went on a ride with a bike mechanic at a local shop, the same guy who took care of my bike today. He is graciously letting me use one of his extra wheel sets until I find a replacement. Relief. I also got to meet his roommates, one of which works at another local shop, and between the two of them we're going to scour the town in search of the best deal possible.

Now I'm off to prepare for the first stage tomorrow. Wish me luck!