I breakfasted on pure dry Maxim and Isostar washed down with High 5 and then spent an hour mentally preparing myself and visualising me winning the sprint, only it wasn’t going to be a sprint as I was going to ride off the front at Caegarw Farm and showboat to the finish.
The shrill ring of my mobile phone brought me crashing down to earth as there was ‘trouble at mill’, which meant that I had to go in to work to sort out a problem. With one eye on the clock I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to go out with the ‘hardriders’ but suddenly everything was sorted so back home I went, straight to the bike shed where I found a very dirty Ruby (my metallic red Bob Jackson 631 road bike). “Ruby, you’re a very dirty girl,” I shout, just as our neighbour dropped off some rubbish into her wheelie bin. Hey, the fact that she is also called Ruby is just an unfortunate coincidence and not of my making. Anyway, I’d ridden Ruby long and hard the previous week and had neglected to clean her. Now wasn’t the time to give Ruby a proper soapy wash, lubeing and a good servicing but I thought that I’d just get the dried up worms of her calipers (just why does that happen?) and buff up her other shiny bits. My attention was drawn to the cassette, which looked odd, and with horror I could see that my 11 sprocket was more like a 6 as almost half of it was missing!
At this point we have to go back to last Saturday where I came a brave and valiant 4th in the sprint. I’d attacked hard and slammed Ruby into the 11 sprocket but was met with a severe clattering noise, which I put down to misalignment. Flicking back onto the 12 sprocket definitely cost me the sprint and I understand that Kelly lost a World Championship doing something similar. Well, flinking blip! It wasn’t misalignment. My 11 sprocket was in half, with half still there and the other half somewhere on the road by the Crematorium. Crikey, I must be putting out some power (mental note to self - do not buy Miche 10-speed cassettes again).
Although it was getting on for 09.00hrs now I wasn’t in too much of a panic. I keep a large box of cassettes, sprockets and spacers in a special box in the cupboard under the stairs. Opening the cupboard door I gazed with horror at a space normally occupied by my cassettes, sprockets and spacers box. The truth hit me like a ladle full of cold blancmange being tipped down the back of my boxers and then someone belting me over the head with the ladle. My cassettes, sprockets and spacers box was in work (where I’d just come from) because I often do a few bike fettling jobs in the workshop there.
Right, back in the car and back to work. Across the level-crossing, no train, thank you God. Open gate, open two doors, collect box, lock two doors, lock gate and drive back. Check time, 09.15hrs. So I’ve got 15 minutes to get home, fix my bike, change and get over to the Plaza. Approaching the level-crossing the lights flash and the barrier starts to come down. Somehow, I resist the temptation to accelerate and patiently wait for the train to pass. It passes, the barrier goes up and with just a few minutes lost I’m home.
I realise that I haven’t got another 11 sprocket but quickly find a 12. Then I realise that I need to rethink the whole cassette as I had an 11-20 straight through on so starting with a 12 means that I need to finish on at least a 21 on the hub side. All the grey-black, greasy, gooey sprockets and spacers come off and my hands become a grey-black, greasy, gooey mess. Sadly, I realise that I’m going to miss the ‘hardriders’ ride so I have a brew and focus my energy thinking about the kicking that I’m going to give the ‘softriders’ later.
Whilst sipping my Darjeeling I decide to abandon patching up this cursed Miche cassette as my confidence in them is shot. In the spares box I’ve got a brand new 12-23 10-speed Centaur cassette (which I really wanted to put onto a new set of handbuilt wheels) so I open the box and the cassette feels nice and light and all the bits slide onto the splines with ease. However, Campag cassettes don’t come with lockrings anymore as the lockring comes with the Campag hub. My hub is a Mavic but, no problem, I’ll use the Miche lockring. However, the Miche lockring doesn’t want to engage and it seems that something is mismatched here somewhere between the Mavic hub, Campag cassette and Miche lockring. So the once virgin Campag cassette comes off and goes into its box all dirty and soiled.
Time is ticking away now and, in desperation, I hit upon the idea of getting an old 9-speed rear wheel from the shed which has Marchisio sprockets on it and respacing it using the Miche 10-speed spacers. I’ve even got a spare Marchisio adapter cog in the spares box so things are looking up and I cheerfully plan my attacks on the 10.30 ride. But, no, it couldn’t be that easy could it? This old 9-speed wheel has been hanging up for a few years now and the lockring is either well and truly seized or was screwed on too tight.
Bing, bong. The last call for the 10.30 ride comes and goes and my head gently falls off and rolls under the table in front of me.
Readers, I sincerely hope you had a better Saturday morning than me!
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"The most important thing in life is not to have the most, but to need the least.” Plato (my favourite Disney character).
"The most important thing in life is not to have the most, but to need the least.” Plato (my favourite Disney character).
« Last edit by Alfie on Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:28 pm. »
. I am secretly riding my mountain bike down the beach 
I'll get back onto a road bike again then 