On a (Broken) Wing and a Prayer

The deadline for entering the lottery for Ride the Rockies 2008 came and went this past Friday. After much waffling, flip-flopping and good old procrastination, I found myself driving home from Manhattan, Kansas, Friday afternoon, having done nothing to get my entry form filled out and sent in. So I resigned myself to bagging it for this year. Probably no way I could recover from my collarbone surgery on March 18 and still get ready by June 15.

Things had seemed to be falling in to place...one of the guys I met on Ride the Rockies last year had offered to lend my his old bike to train on until Allied/Nationwide insurance company ponies up for a new one (thanks, Mark!) . But then Mark got sent overseas on a new job assignment and needed to take his old bike with him to train on. And Allied/Nationwide is still refusing my claim.

So there I was on I-70 in the middle of nowhere having failed to get registered...and then Kris called! Kris is the leader of Team DFL, the team I have ridden with for the past two years after meeting Kris on my first Ride the Rockies in 2005. Kris and Patty (Team DFL's faithful domestique), were on the way to turn in the team envelope and wanted to know if I still wanted in (up to 10 riders can register in a single envelope). So, on a (broken) wing and a prayer, I said YES!

[Above (from left): Patty, me and Kris pose in front of Mt. Massive on the last day of the 2005 Ride the Rockies)

After registering I decided I'd better start working on getting a new bike. And while looking at the new '08 Cannondale models online I decided that I was just going to have to go ahead and bite the bullet and buy a bike, not knowing how the insurance claim is going to turn out. Let's face it, I'm not going to let this debacle keep me from getting back on a bike. It's been over five months already. Enough is enough!

I chose a new Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 (triple) with Shimano Ultegra components and Mavic Aksium Race wheels. Check it out (at left)!. Isn't she a beauty? I placed an order through Treads in Parker, CO (my local bike shop). My new ride is supposed to arrive in late March (new bike models are different than cars, which start hitting dealers lots several months before the actual model year). No hurry. I'm not going to be able to get on it before then anyway.

My plan is to get a CycleOps indoor trainer and start spinning my wheels three to four weeks after my surgery (mid-April). I figure I can put in 500 miles on the trainer from April 15 to May 15. By then, hopefully, I'll be able to take it to the streets and put in another 500 miles before June 15.

I really happy I went ahead and bought a new bike. It was like a huge weight off my shoulders. No more waiting. I now know when I'll be "on the road again"!

Daren