Karen writes: Gears at last

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It has been a year since the gears on my bike worked properly.  I have over time developed a habit of avoiding changing from high to low on the big cogs at the front because going back from low to high was barely possible, involving lots of clicking of levers and muttered curses and frustrating slow downs and wobbles.  I thought it was me and had gotten embarrassed about complaining at the bike shop...visualise the mechanic looking superior and saying "I took it for a ride and it was fine...and look...click click... it changes perfectly up on the stand...nothing wrong with it".  When I took the trusty scott in for a pre-taupo service I decided to try my luck and have a grizzle to the new people who have taken over the bike shop.  I hoped that they might see something the last lot didn't. This time it was "oh look, see how these bits are worn out" and what do you know, a slightly depressing amount of money later and I have a bike which has nearly double the number of usable gears!  I just have to remember to use them now as I am well out of the habit.  The bikeshop guys even CLEANED the poor thing, turns out it is still white underneath the accumulated dirt and I am told it is fighting fit to take on Taupo.

I just need to work on me now.

And my triathlon times from yesterday are in too, 3 hours 15, fourth out of four in my age/gender group for all three disciplines, but not completely last in the whole field...I take a small amount of comfort in the fact that I was 5 minutes faster than the last time I did this distance a couple of years ago.

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