~~~
Day’s Verse:
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in Him and He will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him…
Proverbs 37:3-7
~~~

Part I: The Day Before
I stopped at Landry’s last night to see the new bike, already named Artemis. She was half-built, and the mechanic, Russ, got mad at me for coming to see her before she was done. I couldn’t stay away, though, when I knew she was there. Even only partly finished, her sleek lines, elegant curves, and perfect welds made my knees weak. While I was there, they took my current saddle (and gave me a loaner) and my fenders to put on Artemis so that she’d be as ready to go as possible when I get her today.

Thus I had to appreciate the irony of being de-fendered when I awoke this morning to hear rain pattering on the roof and running down the gutters. For you non-cyclists, riding with fenders is much like having somebody spray you with a hose on mist, but you have an umbrella and wearing a waterproof jacket and pants. Riding without fenders, however, is like standing naked from that misting hose. Sure enough, road water thrown up by my tires had soaked my feet, legs, and posterior by the time I arrived at work, although my messenger bag protected my back from that classic filth-line along my spine. Nothing eight hours of drying won’t cure, I hope.

I have taken Monday off to do a 100-mile ride, the Tour de Landry’s (which, incidentally, I haven’t trained for at all. What fun!). Today I read and signed their liability waiver, which contained this disturbing statement:

I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CYCLING IS AN INHERENTLY DANGEROUS SPORT AND FULLY REALIZE THE DANGERS OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS EVENT, whether as a rider, official, coach, mechanic, volunteer, or otherwise, and FULLY ASSUME THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH PARTICIPATION INCLUDING, by way of example, and not limitation: dangers associated with man made and natural jumps? the dangers of collision with pedestrians, vehicles, other riders, and fixed or moving objects? the dangers arising from surface hazards, including potholes, equipment failure, inadequate safety equipment, use of equipment or materials provided by the event organizer and others, THE RELEASEES’ OWN NEGLIGENCE, the negligence of others and weather conditions? and the possibility of serious physical and/or mental trauma or injury, or death associated with the event. For myself, my heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, assignees, and successors in interest (collectively “Successors”) I HEREBY WAIVE, RELEASE, DISCHARGE, HOLD HARMLESS, AND PROMISE TO INDEMNIFY AND NOT TO SUE the Releasees and all sponsors…

Yikes.

– KF 9 Oct 2008, 11:25 am

Part II: Bringing Artemis Home Part II: More Waiting
Despite sincere attempts on the part of the bike shop staff, Artemis did not carry me home yesterday evening. I arrived at the shop at 4:30, practically hopping with excitement, but that quickly cooled to an attitude of patient endurance as one issue after another arose. They had trouble getting the fenders on, thanks to short fender attachments and the placement of the fender braze-ons on the frame. That took at least an hour, but eventually both fenders ended up happily mounted. Then the remaining two hours I spent waiting at the shop went primarily to trying to fix my front brake, which refused to stop rubbing. Something had gone wrong with the piston in the disc brake mechanism, and with no experienced mechanics on duty, this problem proved insurmountable. Despite these setbacks, we did do some fitting, adjusted the hoods and saddle, put on pedals, etc.

Eventually, about 6:50, they admitted that I wouldn’t be riding home. I called Ian. He arrived at 7:20. The bike shop people spent the intervening time trying to re-tape the bar tape and apologizing sincerely for the frustrating delays. Interestingly, the delays and issues really didn’t bother me. After waiting around for three hours my earlier excitement had cooled completely and I had just entered a perfectly calm, not at all frustrated, patient waiting phase.

I rode Davey to work today, on a borrowed saddle, regular pedals with toe clips, and 28C tires. It felt a little weird. However, this afternoon we’ll execute Attempt No. 2 at obtaining Artemis. Stay tuned.

– KF 10 Oct 2008, 8:45 am

Part III: Home at Last
After some travails yesterday, Artemis has come home at last. She bore me home this gorgeous afternoon in excellent style. She is beautiful.

– KF 10 Oct 2008, 7:56 pm

KF quality

2 thoughts on “Artemis and Other Bike News

  1. It’s kind of like a little bicycle soap opera. 🙂 Hope it all works out and you have a great ride on Monday!

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