Way more expensive than I think a bike oughta be, but what the heck do I know. Anyway, I got the bike in the beginning of Feb and rode it a couple of times, but it wasn't fitted to me, so I had to get it custom fitted. I rode it to the bike store and got a custom fitting. Prior to that, I purchased some cycling shoes. -- THEY were $400. OH.... MY..... GOODNESS!!! so, I rode it to the bike shop and got fitted, then rode a few times. On one 20 mile ride I punctured my tube on the front wheel. Fortunately a friend gave me an emergency kit that contained a spare tube, a CO2 cartridge, some tire tools and a $10 bill. So, I punctured my tube, pulled over and changed my tire. It took me about 30 min. Then I used the CO2 cartridge to pump up the new tube and heard a pop. I guess I did not do it right... so, now I really am stranded about 20 miles away from home. Fortunately I had my phone with me and called my wife and she came to rescue me. So, I bought some new tire tubes. They cost about $8-9 each. While I was waiting for the tubes to arrive, I took the bike in to the bike shop to have them install a new tube for me to make sure it was done correctly this time. So, I went for a ride. This time I was about a mile away from my house when I caught a pice of glass and punctured my front tire again. I still had not received my tubes that I ordered, so I went back to the bike shop and bought some tubes from them. A week went by and I was riding my other bike to work when the pedal fell off. So, I took it to the bike shop and they basically informed me that it would cost me more than the bike was worth to fix it, so I had to look at purchasing another bike. I was not too happy with that, so I did nothing. I starting riding my tri bike to work... until I was out riding and got another flat tire. So, I changed my tube and rode home. I decided that this was not any fun, so I was looking for a way to fix it. So, I went back to the bike shop to discuss it with them. They had a used mountain bike that was in good condition and "refurbished" in their shop, so I bought that. It cost me a couple hundred bucks, but by this time, I was spending that much money on tire tubes anyway. While I was there, I discussed with them the option of getting some "bullet proof" tires for my tri bike and using those to train and then changing to the racing tires if and when I decided to race. So, I bought some sturdier tires and some tube protectors as well. They add some weight and slow me down a bit, but they are fine for training... maybe even better, as it would make me work harder when I train. So, I took my new tires and tube protectors out for a spin. I had travelled about 25 miles when I heard a clang, clang, clang. I thought I broke a spoke. Upon inspection, I found a nail in my rear tire that was stuck in my tire and clanging against my frame. New tubes on order, to arrive the next day and all the other tubes punctured, I was once again stranded. The nail went through my sturdy tires and through the tube protectors and into my tube. The one day I have no spare, I am once again stranded 20 miles from home. My wife, once again, came to my rescue. Humiliating. So, I take the bike back to the bike shop to have them check out my frame and my rim to make sure the damage was only to the tube and not the bike. Lucky for me, they were able to simply replace the tube and get me back on my way. The next day, I rode my mountain bike to work, worked a full day, then went to ride home and noticed I had a flat tire on that bike. I took it back to the bike shop, because I could see nothing that looked like a puncture, just a flat out of nowhere. They took it apart and showed me a hole in the tube and replaced it for me, but refused to charge me... saying something about kicking me while I was down. So, I came up with another idea. I decided to get an indoor trainer. You remove the wheels off your bike and connect them in the same way to a machine that gives resistance and even raises and lowers the front of the bike to simulate an incline or a decline. I figured it would be impossible to get a puncture in the house when the wheels were not even on the bike. So, I signed up for Zwift, which is like a virtual reality game that simulates a real-time ride while on the trainer.
You may notice in the above photos that the bike connected to the indoor trainer is not my tri bike. It is a totally separate bike. It is not the bike I broke or the one I bought to ride to work either. It is bike #4. I had to purchase bike number #4 because I was riding my tri bike on the trainer one day. I was going uphill so, there was a lot of resistance and the front of the bike raised up really high. I was standing up off the seat (saddle) and pumping in an attempt to pass some Asian gentleman (he was seriously from Asia somewhere) that I was riding next to on Zwift. I suddenly lost my balance and fell over. I yelled an explicative, but it was a rated PG explicative and then fell over whilst still clipped in to the pedals. After I unravelled myself and assessed the damage, I noticed that I damaged the bike a bit, so I took it back to the bike shop AGAIN!!!. Of course they tell me, after a week that they have discussed the damage with Trek and they have determined that I need a new frame and that it is NOT covered under warrantee. A friend of mine told me I need to learn how to lie... but alas, it was my fault. Trek did offer to cut me a break on the purchase of a new frame, but it was still going to cost me $3500 and then the labor and materials to put it all back together. I was NOT going to spend that kind of money... no way!!. So, I found a company that will repair it for me for $450. I will get it back in mid May. So, in the mean time, I decided to buy a bike to connect to the trainer. It is a sturdier, aluminum frame. It is heavier, but weight does not matter on the trainer. So, when it is all said and done I will have a very expensive racing bike, a cheap (craigslist) trainer bike, (that I still have to buy new pedals for- they arrive tomorrow), a cheap mountain bike to ride to work and an old, broken mountain bike that I use for parts. Then.... I was riding home from work on my new-to-me mountain bike and my chain broke. I had no idea how difficult it is to repair a bicycle chain without all of the right tools, so after riding my daughter's Wal-mart bike to work and back for two weeks, I FINALLY got my chain replaced, and have my work commute bike back. Now all I need is my racing bike back.
This is crazy. Who knew that you must be a certified bike mechanic just to ride a bicycle. And the amount of money that is required to purchase and maintain one of these vehicles, much less 4 of them... it is simply ludicrous. I am going to have to begin to play the lottery if I want to continue to ride a bike. I do not even want to discuss the cost of cycling shorts, cycling shirts, helmets, gloves, etc....
I have a limited amount of experience in swimming, but so far it is much less expensive than cycling. Maybe I should just be a swimmer. Wish me luck, or better yet, send me money.
