Thirty-six hours before I was to board my flight to Colorado to race the Leadville 100 I was riding peacefully in my backyard canyon, trying to keep my legs loose. That’s when I felt a terrible “ker-chunck!” from somewhere and felt my bike sag depressingly towards the ground. Shiny metal fragments flew off my bike as I skidded to a halt. Oh, this can’t be good, I’m screwed…

Have you ever seen someone with a broken arm? You know how it just looks so strange for their arm to be hanging off at that strange angle? That’s how my bike looked – it took me a minute to figure out that my rear suspension had basically exploded.

This is how my rear suspension should look – the part that broke was the pin at the base of the shock. Everything in that joint needed replacing.

Two miles from my car, I tried pedaling it in. I was sagging so low that my pedals hit even small rocks protruding from the trail. I kept pedaling and started weighing my options.

OPTION ONE – Get it fixed? There was *NO* way I was going to get my bike repaired – this wasn’t a flat tire, my suspension had fallen completely OFF!

OPTION TWO – Borrow a bike? Unfortunately, I’m the only 6’4” mountain bike racer I know. All my friends ride size Medium. That won’t work…

OPTION THREE – Best excuse for a new bike! I was going to have to buy a new bike – screw it, I’ll go in debt. I have to race. I will not be stopped.

But… Buying a new bike the day before the race would be VERY risky. My chances for a race-ending mechanical issue on a 100-mile mountain bike race with a brand new bike were very high.

Racing a 100-mile mountain bike race requires rock solid equipment. I had been vetting my bike and it’s configuration for months, carefully tuning it to be as ready as me on August 15th. Too many Leadville racers have their races ended by stupid mechanical errors.

Ok, so buying a new bike was actually my second choice. Best choice was a repair, no matter how slim the chances. I decided to call Morgan at Bicycle Warehouse to verify I was screwed then head straight to the Trek Store and their 1-year, no interest financing.

I sat sweating in my car listening to the phone ring at Bicycle Warehouse. Morgan picked up and I explained that some pin sheared off in my suspension. You know what he said? “I have three of those right here, come on down.” My head almost exploded with joy. I threw my bike in the back of the car and raced to the shop, still wearing my kit, covered in dirt and mud.

We hung my Santa Cruz in the bike stand and Morgan started shaking his head, “No, no, no – you said you just broke the pin. I have a pin. This thing is completely fragged.” He was right. I was twice as screwed as I first thought.

Morgan is disassembling my bike to get a better look. So far, it doesn’t look very good.

What initially broke way back in June was the pin that connects my rear shock to the rear triangle. A squeak developed in my Santa Cruz – the classic Santa Cruz squeak – so I ignored it. Since a broken pin wobbles ever so slightly, by the time it finally fell out it had ruined the joint bearings, bent the connectors and ovalized all the spacers. I needed more than a new pin, I needed a whole new… everything – which, of course, no bike shop carries.

Morgan came out from the back room carrying a small cardboard box of assorted parts. Then, like a magician, he fished out first one bearing and then another. Those were the only parts that couldn’t be re-machined. He quietly went to work rebuilding my bike’s suspension. Parts that were bent got un-bent, torn parts got smoothed. I waited quietly, knowing I was watching a miracle. After a time, Morgan finished, looked up and said, “You can race this Saturday, and it will hold, but then we’re going to re-order all these parts and rebuild it new. This is just temporary.”

Nice! Then Morgan went to re-attach the rear shock and stopped. There was a big gash on the shock’s piston – the gash would burp air into shock, rendering it useless. I said, “So, sell me a new shock”, and he explained that there are too many size variations among mountain bikes; none of the stores stock them. They just order them one at a time, as needed. I tried to suggest that they sell me one off of a new bike, but Santa Cruz had changed their design specs for 2009, it was different and wouldn’t work. I was triple-screwed.

The divots on the shock arm may be hard to see, but they’re big enough to burp air into the shock.

So, I got on the phone and started dialing bike shops around San Diego – maybe I’d get lucky. I got a lot of sympathy everywhere I inquired – the guy who’s racing Leadville and needs a rear shock is a good story, but still no shock was found. I stared at the Maps app on my iPhone, I had called all the bike shops – now what? What about JensonUSA? I order a lot of bike parts from them online and they have super quick shipping. Maybe, just maybe…

I called JensonUSA and the rep casually said he had one in stock – no way! I don’t think he really understood why I was so excited. The shock was about 2 ½ hours away and rather than risk shipping it, I decided to drive up and pick it up personally the next morning.

Less than 24 hours after my bike exploded, I was packing it carefully for my race, thanks to Morgan and Bicycle Warehouse. And after 103.5 miles of racing, my only mechanical issue was a minor adjustment to my front derailleur. Rock solid gear and rock solid service. Thanks guys!

ps: Morgan contacted Santa Cruz who decided this was a warranty failure. They sent all new parts gratis which Morgan installed just today. Nice…

Last Sunday, I was lucky enough to watch the Stage 8 of the Tour of California as they raced over Palomar Mountain, here in San Diego.

Levi, on Jens Voigt’s wheel, being LeviSTRONG.

We rode up Palomar the morning of and reveled in the spectacle that is a bike race. There was the Pope, the Antler Guy, some dude in sparkly-green shorts and a whole bunch more fanatics amid thousands of excited fans. We were cheered as we ascended the 21 switchbacks of South Grade road at a paltry 8mph average.

Lance is back and I couldn’t be happier!

The Descenders were smart and resourceful enough to have a truck parked on the final turn, about 250 meters from the KOM marker. We tailgated in style while the peloton suffered its way to us. Beer, brats, comfy chairs and all that crazy energy on the top of Mount Palomar – it was awesome.

Cheering the Autobus. I’m stoked at seeing Mark Cavendish, the fastest man on two wheels.

Finally, the boys arrived and we screamed by the side of the road with thousands of other fans. I waved my cow bell frantically at Levi, Andy, Dave, Frank, Jens, Christian and all the others. I almost lost my mind when Lance went by with George, Chechu and the others in the second group. We even cheered like mad for the Autobus, with Cav’s bright green sprint leader’s jersey.

It was a spectacular day. Thank you Tour of California – see you again next year!

Update – check out these great photos of the scene atop Palomar from Velonews

The best bike shop in San Diego is Bicycle Warehouse, especially the one in Kearney Mesa run by Jeff and Morgan. I’ve been to most of the bike shops in San Diego and I think Bicycle Warehouse head and shoulders above the rest. I’ve been a customer of Bicycle Warehouse ever since I bought my mountain bike and have been really impressed with the service I get there. The two primary guys, Jeff and Morgan, seem to really care. Here’s just one example of the kind of service you can get.

Yesterday, as I was prepping my mountain bike for a recovery ride to the coast I noticed a ton of extra friction in the crank. I’ve seen this before on my road bike so I removed the crank, disassembled the bottom brackets and examined the bearings. Sure enough, one bearing spun easily, the other barely moved – I’ve blown my bottom bracket bearings. No wonder it was so hard coming home Monday, I was on a resistance trainer.

I replaced these with XTR bearings because they are supposed to be higher quality.

I called the guys at Bicycle Warehouse and sure enough, they had the replacement bearings. An hour later, I’m in the store and paying for the new bearings. I joke with Jeff that I must be doing something wrong because I lost a set of bearings on my road bike over the summer. He calls Morgan (the mechanic) over who walks me through a bunch of questions to see if I’m doing something dumb to blow the bearings. Do I use a high-pressure hose to wash my bike? No. What degreasers do I use? Just SimpleGreen and Park Chain Brite. We talk about my style of riding and my experiences with the bearings going out. He’s amazed that the bearings went out so fast – the ceramic bearing on my SRAM Red crank only lasted a few months.

Then he picks up the phone, calls someone and explains what happened. After a short conversation he hangs up and says, “That was our SRAM dealer. She’s sending you out a new set of bearings.” Just like that, SRAM is ready to replace $189 bearings. No receipt, no inspection, they just want me to have a great experience with their components.

Now, I’m really stoked that SRAM is so willing to replace the bearings. This experience will definitely play a part in future component decisions. But, I kind of expect them to go the distance. They’re a “big company” and are competing with Shimano for the components market in the US.

I certainly didn’t expect Jeff to care enough about why I was buying bearings to call Morgan over to help me out. And I didn’t expect Morgan to care enough to really dig into what was going on. I definitely didn’t expect him to care enough to call the SRAM dealer on my behalf.
Many of the employees at other bike shops have a “who cares?” attitude which defines their service. At Bicycle Warehouse, Jeff and Morgan really care.

Thanks guys!

In a fit of frustration and anger, I picked up a good sized rock and threw it as hard as I could at my bike. The rock bounced off the saddle. I’m surprised it didn’t bounce back and hit me in the head. That’s just the kind of day I was having.

All I wanted was a fun day mountain biking with my buddies Mark and Andy. I’d trashed my legs the day before and was looking forward to a relaxing ride with friends and a couple of beers afterwards. A nice recovery ride. Here I was at Elfin Forest Recreational Preserve, in completely over my head.

The ride starts out by climbing about 1,000 feet up a rocky hiking trail complete with steps, anti-erosion channels and 180 degree switchbacks. My bike handling skills are weak to say the least and this was double-black diamond territory as far as I was concerned. I was forced to clip-out on almost every switchback and anywhere it got too rocky or there were significant steps involved. I must have clipped out more than 100 times in the first mile. I quickly fell behind.

I was hoping the trail would be a bit better after we gained the ridgeline. But there would be no hope as we descended an almost identical trail. The descents terrified me. Large ruts, big boulders on narrow rocky trails, again with the switchbacks. Again with all the clipping out.

Then my pedals started to get tight – it became difficult to clip out or in. The pedals already needed a little lube and all the clipping was driving more grit into the mechanics which caused them to seize up. A little later on I crashed trying to clip out when my bike stopped on a boulder, gashing up my knee. That was really frustrating and I lost all confidence in my ability to clip out. Now every obstacle became a potential crashing point. I tried to ride as gingerly as possible – not easy on such difficult trails.

The trigger of the rock-throwing incident came a little later on. I was climbing a steep, rocky incline and stopped just short of the top. I got my left foot down and because the trail was so steep, I started to do a wheelie, the bike coming over backwards. No problem, I just have to jump off the back of the bike. The problem was that my right foot would not release. So there I was, one foot in the air with my bike coming over on top of me doing a little ballet on this nasty trail. I managed to twist the bike off my foot and am grateful that I didn’t tumble over backwards.

After throwing the rock I felt much better. It’s funny to note that my previous mountain bike had a big rock-shaped ding on the down tube from a very similar incident involving sticky pedals. I guess life really does repeat itself.

I calmed down a little and then just resigned myself to surviving the trail. I clipped out at every opportunity, well before obstacles and walked whenever I could get away with it. On the way back down to the car, I surprised hikers by clipping out and walking past them, chatting about the beautiful weather.

At least the beer was good and it was nice warming up in the sunshine with friends.

I just didn’t feel like writing and now I do. It’s really as simple as that.

But just because I wasn’t writing doesn’t mean that the Adventures came to a stop. Since we last got together, I’ve chosen 2009 goals, designed a new training plan, integrated mountain biking into my life and ridden about 1,029 miles on dirt and road.  My goal is to get you up to speed so I’ll be writing more about all these missing Adventures in the weeks to come.

Feels good to be back.

My friend Ajay is currently the fifth most successful fundraiser for the upcomming MS Bike Tour, having raised $4,832 so far in the fight against MS!

Ajay is a founding member of Team Climb On! and was our leading fundraiser in our innaugural appearance at the MS Bike Tour last year.  He’s the guy in the middle of this photo.

Last year, Ajay signed up for the MS Bike Tour just after being cured of cancer.  Training to ride the century was his comeback training!  As a cancer survivor, he has pledged to donate 50% of whatever he raises in the MS Bike Tour to the Livestrong foundation.  So if you sponsor Ajay, you’re really donating to two really great charities!  Nice work Ajay – I hope you stay a top-5 fundraiser!

Would you like to support Team Climb On! in the fight agains MS?

 Remember when they said that computers and the internet would isolate us from each other?  They said we’d spend all day inside, “playing” with computers, disconnected from the “real world”…

Here’s a map that Google Analytics provides which shows the global distribution of web traffic to this site over the last 30 days. Make sure you click it to get the zoomed view. 

The green areas are places where people visit this site from.  The darker the green, the more visitors.

Here is the breakdown within one country, the United States of America

I find it very cool that this little blog gives me the opportunity to connect with so many people from around the world. And I am inspired that my adventures resonate enough with people that they come back.  People from all around the world.  I could never image being this connected to the “real world”.

Thank you, World. I’ll keep sharing my adventures as I find them and I hope you continue to enjoy them.

One of my first adventures after getting back on a road bike was riding last year’s MS Bike Tour.  It was my first century ride ever and my first exposure to charity bike rides.

With just a month to go before this year’s MS Bike Tour kicks off, I have to thank everyone who has so generously contributed to my fundraising campaign to fight MS!  Together we’ve raised $1,215 so far!  Both I and the National MS Society thank you.

Can you believe that my team (Team Climb On!) has raised $13,584 among just 16 cyclists?!  Everyone is doing a lot of riding to get in shape for the 150-mile course next month.  While I’m pretty confident about my ability to do the ride, I am still a bit short of my fundraising goal of $5,000.

So, if you would like to contribute there is still time.  Making a tax-deductable donation takes just 5 minutes.  Just click here to join the fight against MS.

http://www.biketofinishms.com/arlynasch

Donations of any size are greatly appreciated!

Last year, my friend Andrew invited me to ride the 2007 MS Bike Tour with him.  It’s a 150-mile event over two days that raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Wow – 150 miles!  The longest I had ever cycled in a day was maybe 40 miles – could I ride a full century followed by another 50-mile day?  I love a good challenge so I accepted and we started training in earnest.

I told another friend, Dave about it and he immediately signed up.  Then his friend Firger, who’s Mom struggles with MS signed up.  Firger actually signed up without owning a bicycle.  Next thing I know, we’ve got 7 people on the team.  We’re started calling ourselves “Team Climb On!“.

When you sign up, you commit to raising at least $400 for the National MS Society.  I was pretty nervous about being able to raise that much so I procrastinated asking for donations.  I had no real connection to the MS community and was happier focusing on the cycling challenge.  In the back of my mind, I pondered whether I would just pony up the $400 myself rather than ask for donations.

Then one day, it occurred to me that one of my best friend’s dad has multiple sclerosis.  His name is John.  John used to have a really active life, he was an avid skier, cyclist, hiker and tennis player. After his diagnosis in 1992 he had to use a cane to walk, then a walker, and now a wheelchair.  He’s unable to move on his own or even feed himself.  John considers himself very lucky that even though he has lesions on his brain typical of MS, they have not progressed and he maintains full mental capabilities.

All of a sudden, what really mattered to me was how we could help people like John live with MS.  I told this story and asked for donations and people gave far more generously than I could have predicted. I was inspired by their contributions.  As the summer progressed, Team Climb On! worked harder and harder to make a significant difference in the MS community.  We were all getting stoked by people’s commitment to do something good.  It drove us to go farther.

By the time the actual event rolled around in October, we had raised $22,047.01 to fight MS.  Each member of Team Climb On! was awarded Top Fundraiser and 4 of us were among the top 150 fundraisers, which is a special honor.  We were presented with a team award and I even won “Rookie Team Captain of the Year” at an awards banquet in January.

Oh, and I did the cycling.  It was a great ride, in fact.  But do you know what was so inspiring and what got me really passionate?  It was the difference we made in the MS community.  It was all the lives we touched.  From the riders on our team who were getting into cycling just for the event, to the people we inspired by our example, to all the people who would benefit from the money we raised.  I had no idea that contributing like that could be so rewarding, so fulfilling. I really got that life is the most rewarding when you are being a contribution.

This year we’re going even bigger.  We’ve already doubled the size of Team Climb On!, which was pretty easy – people want to be a part of making a difference.  We’ve also increased our fundraising goal to $50,000 which I think is actually pretty doable – with a bit of help   I’m not worried about the training anymore and there are 30-mile and 100-mile course alternatives for people who are more focused on the contribution aspects than the cycling.

I can’t wait to see how much we can accomplish this year. Visit my donations page, make a contribution and be a part of it.

ps: Would you like to be a part of Team Climb On?  Visit our team web site to see what we’re up to and drop me a line at arlynasch at gmail dot com if you’re interested in joining.  We’re always looking for people who want to make a difference.

Thanks to Bike Noob for tagging me. Rather than tempt fate , I’ll go ahead and comply with the instructions. Here it goes…

If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be?

My bike. I love it and it loves me.

Do you already have that coveted dream bike? If so, is it everything you hoped it would be? If not, are you working toward getting it? If you’re not working toward getting it, why not?

I’m really not that much of a bike wiener, except that I love the one I have.

If you had to choose one — and only one — bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?

Embrun to Alpe d’Huez via the Col du Galibier, Col du Telegraph and Col de la Croix de Fer. In fact, go ahead and add the Col du Mollard just for kicks. Every day, buddy. Anyways, I have a feeling this will be my purgatory ride.

What kind of sick person would force another person to ride one and only one bike ride for the rest of her / his life?

You’ve never ridden from Embrun to Alpe d’Huez.

Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrow-minded?

I wore out my mountain bike and can’t afford a new one. Wearing out a bike is a good sign I think.

Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent.

Have you ever seen someone ride a recumbent? That’s why not.

Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss?

I live in the triathlon capitol of the world. A couple of months ago, one got eaten by a shark. Is that enough reason?

Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why?

Ice cream, duh. Don’t ask about beer.

What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it.

Do you think there should be more questions in this list? No.

You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?

Well, the definition of a bike race is two cyclists on the same road, headed in the same direction. So, assuming he is one of those circus bears that ride little bikes, I’d drop his ass. Then I’d pull down my shorts (ala Voris) and show him who’s boss.

Now, tag three biking bloggers. List them below.

Sorry guys, gotta be

• Mark at A Rider’s Almanac
• Andrew at More to Life Than…
• Dave at his bike blog