In Trouble Now

A few blogs ago I shared with you my rides in east county. You were probably wondering how I fueled myself to complete those rides. There are precious few support stations. Also, we tend to turn up our nose at the thought of stopping. Well it was liquid calories. Who has time to chew when faced with thousands of feet of elevation? Maltodextran was the culprit to be exact. Carbo Pro is the brand name. Yes, I could use Sustained Energy or Perpetuem, but those are sticky too. In my opinion, they taste more gross. Plus, they make my stomach blow up and hurt by hour 4. the Great Western Loop plus the Laguna Loop takes 6h30min on a decent day. That leaves 2.5 hours of tummy trouble, so I chose the Carbo Pro.

The upside to this is I was able to complete my rides with race like nutrition. The downside is so that my water bottles leaked and sticky solution got all over my bike. I knew my husband would view this a sin against bike. He would say I should have just added an additional hour of riding and headed into Julian for pie. So I didn't tell him, I didn't want to disappoint him. I cleaned the bike the best I could. I polished the frame until it shined. Unfortunately the brakes and derailleur were victims of maltodextran too. Hey, at least I didn't drown the bike in high fructose corn syrup. The brakes actually sort of congealed and lost a bit of spring, so when you release the brake it doesn't spring back all the way. I thought I was just riding recovery pace the last week or so but I guess it was brake aided.

Tonight, Tim attempted to prep my time trial bike (Sweet Thunder) for Saturday's race. He couldn't adjust the brakes or derailleur for my race wheels. As in parts would not move. Now, I am in big trouble. He said out loud all the damage I had done to Sweet Thunder and she heard him. I've been charged with bike abuse, negligence, and assault with a deadly weapon (that would be the Carbo Pro). I'm worried cycle services might take my bike away. I wrote my bike a note of apology.

Poor bike, it was custom built just for me by a couple Canadians and I mistreated it. It wasn't a bike built in a factory for any random rider. Sweet Thunder, was born because I dreamt of her. She was the in leau of a new car bike. The guys at Moment Cycle Sport spent a lot of time ( and probably lost a bit of money ) making sure she was really special. You are probably wondering why I feel so guilty. I was at least riding my bike. Something not all bike master's do which is a bigger sin against bike.

See the story gets worse. After that big ride I was tired. I didn't have much time and I had to attend a function with Tim. I put myself first. I showered and waited until the next day to clean the bike. I did my hair, put on a dress, high heels even wore some makeup. While I sipped a Merlot, my bike rotted from Carbo Pro.

Well all I can do is take Sweet Thunder to the urgent care (Moment Cycle Sport) and ask for some help. I tried to tell her it a cycle spa but she worries when she goes in there she'll be down for a few days. I tell her it's ok and there are lots of other nice bikes for her to visit with but she gets very upset and rubs her brakes against the rims. Poor bike, I think I her aero bars are hanging with sadness, sickness, and shame. I hear her pedals scratching the wall, asking for attention.

My road bike isn't helping either. She is all clean and snide. Her name is Princess and for good reason. She is bragging that she has never been treated that way. Bragging she gets to ride into Julian for pie. Bragging that she is not slopped on. In fact, she has proudly rested in a wrack for all to admire at Pannikin in Encinitas while her master had coffee. In fact, she snuggled up next to a Serotta. She fondly remembers riding all the way to San Clemente just to have lunch. Poor Sweet Thunder, she was crushed. I hope she can rally back and make it to the club TT tomorrow night.