Liz Randall's Cycling Blog - a life behind bars

"With ordinary talents and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable"



Monday 14 April 2008

...Sunday 10pm and finally its finished, but I've yet to test it


Yup here's my baby...noice eh! but what an epic.

To recap:

Ordered late last year and very delayed in its arrival, the birth of my latest n+1 was anything but smooth. I was getting frantic but finally it arrived just before Easter, although I was too sick to ride the Easter races anyhow, so no biggy there. However, it arrived without its very special 1" internal Cane Creek headset..a species so rare that only Cane Creek make them. There were none in Aus at all and so we had to wait until one was sent from America and it finally hit my desk week later , but by that time Ben (wrench, Spoke(n) workshop manager and son) was on holidays and out bush racing.

However finally it all came together and he did as much able to do at home after which I rushed the bike over to the Spoke(n) for James ( other Spoke(n) mechanic) to make it rideable for set up...eg cut the steerer down, attach brake and rear dérailleur cables.

So then it was set up time which took place very late on Saturday evening, after which I delivered it to Ben yet again for final sortings out. He arrived here late last night and after a few minor changes..he'd put on the wrong shifters and I didn't like the way he'd cabled the front dérailleur (fussy Mum mode)... it was finally done.

Well not totally final as my position will need some tinkering, the rear brake cable is too long and on the wrong side of the front dérailleur cable, the cranks are too long and I'm using a saddle I don't like in order to be legally placed WRT to distance behind the BB...but he/she it is good enough to race.

Which brings up the topic of naming..all my bikes have names. First there was Erik..a Giant road bike , then Gary..a Sugar 2 Gary Fisher MTB, Michael..Teschner TT, Stuey the track Blue... James the Teschner road bike, and Colin the Colnago track bike.

Erik was sold last year to Sarah D, Colin was sold last night to Peter G and Michael is now for sale. Colin gets two more rides with me before handover to Peter, who will race him alot more than I did and in different types of races...ie more mass start races.

Naming takes a while...I have to work out what suits its/his/her (but most probably "his") character.....Fabian? Cadel? David? (pronounced the French way)....George....or perhaps after my current never stop attacking fav...Jens. I'll know after the first race, which is about a week away.

The timetable: Tuesday after work drive 4 hrs to Albury, Wednesday drive the rest of the way to Sydney, where I will share an apartment with Peter and Lawrence...a much better idea than staying in a motel or caravan park, and at $140/night between 3 of us-cheaper too. Start racing on Thursday...a race every 2nd day in this order: Track TT, Scratch, Road TT, Crit, Road race.

Drive home, rest and recuperate.

4 comments:

Rich Gift Of Lins said...

Very nice. That's one short headtube! All my bikes have names too, Winnie the winter bike, Zoom the road bike, Whizz the TT bike and Von Trapp the tandem because it's a Barron and someone like Maria sits on the back of it!

Lawrence said...

sounds like my adventures getting the teschner up and running last yr. You're nearly there Liz - looking good! Looking forward to hearing how it feels under the pump out on the racecourse.

Unknown said...

Wicked looking beast. Worth the wait I'm sure

Liz said...

A belated comment about your comments!...my keyboard failed.. literally.

Short top tube is short cos I'm short, I blame my parents of course(!)..actually until I arrived in Aus I didn't realise I was short, but this is a land of brutally honest tall people!

And welcome Le Blaireau..smugly I didn't even have to resort to a dictionary for a translation....