A few blogs back I wrote about the ups and downs. Well, excitingly, now I get to write about the downs and ups. I took the bike out on the road two times since the last post. Once for a 25 miler and the second was a 45 mile ride. The 25 mile ride was pretty much an easy ride to gain a bit more confidence in the aero position and trying to get more comfortable. I feel more confident on the tri-bike. I did a 3/4 mile open water swim (2nd open water swim ever!) and really confronted my fears of the open water swim. I had, for me, solid run at Cooper River. I feel like I am in a good place and I plan on staying here a while!
I took the bike through the Highland Creek Parkway. These are the hilly-ist roads I know of in this area. I was able to make some good speed and then it happened. I was on a hill in the big ring and maxed out in the big ring. I then attempted to shift into the small ring. Note: this is something I was able to do quiet a bit on my road bike with no ill effects. That wording should tell you something really bad happened. I also say get away because, as I learned, this is not the proper way to shift.
Well, sadly it did. The chain over shifted and missed the small ring. The chain was then wedged between the frame and the small ring. I was in the middle of pedaling when this happened which caused the chain to grind into the frame a bit. It gouged the frame pretty good. I mean it looks ugly! This is referred to as chain-suck damage.
On the way back home it felt like the chain was slipping. I would pedal and then on a random stroke feel no resistance. I was able to make it home other than the chain slipping. It didn’t happen frequent enough for me to think there was anything significant that happened. I knew that I certainly needed to get the bike looked at. Especially since my first triathlon, Cool Breeze Sprint Triathlon, was coming up.
The next day I had a 45 mile bike ride scheduled. I needed this ride to really gain my confidence in riding in the aero position. More importantly, I needed this ride to help nail down my nutrition for the half ironman (what I will eat and drink on the bike without upsetting my stomach). I loaded one Cliff bar, one gel pack, and I was using Perpetuem as my primary nutrition on the bike.
The first few bumps I realized the BIG YELLOW sponge was for! IT IS SPLASH GUARD! I had drinks splashing on my glasses, all over the bike; it was everywhere! I thought, “I need to put something there to keep this from splashing all over the place.” Then it dawned on me! THE BIG YELLOW SPONGE would be perfect! LOL. I’m still cleaning the bike from all the fluids that spilled all over the place! This is how I learned what the big yellow sponge was for!
On the ride, the chain slipped but not consistently. When it did slip it would make me unstable so I knew I had to get the bike looked at asap. Two days later, I took the bike into Inside Out Sports and they saw that I actually damaged a link on the chain. Then I pointed out the damage t the back and asked if I compromised the frame. He couldn’t give me a good answer and admittedly didn’t know; which was totally understandable. They took pictures of the damage and sent them to Cervelo to see if I need to replace the frame. This was about a week ago and still no word. (no news is good news.) I was expecting Cervelo to say I need to replace the bike frame. They are supposed to. That is how they don’t get sued you know.
I was told about Cervelo’s crash replacement was an option but I would have to pay (rough estimate) $1, 000 but I also get a new frame. I also looked into Calfree Design who is the leader in carbon bicycle repair. They would charge me 500 dollars and I would be looking at a 5 week turnaround. Ok so here are my options pending Cervelo’s response to whether or not the damage was significant enough. 500 bucks and a 5 week turn around (no cycling) or 1 grand and I could be cycling the same day. Tough Choice. The only thing I can do at this point is to pray but more importantly pray for God’s Will.
To prevent ever over shifting again, I purchased a K-Edge Chain catcher. This prevents the chain from over shifting. I have read great reviews and am looking forward to adding this to my bike.
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