1 Ride=1 Mechanical

Although not quite recovered from the beating I took yesterday, Brayden & I managed a quick 45 minute ride at Mt. Blue Job this afternoon after work/school. I'm always a little eager to put in the first ride of the season and today was no exception. It's a curious endeavor to witness how much riding-specific fitness is lost after a winter out of the saddle. Obviously I don't hibernate, but I actually focused a little more on snowshoeing and a little less (ie. none) time on the indoor trainer this winter. I've actually got two 24 hour mountain bike races planned with the possibility of squeezing in the Horror at Harding Hill Mountain Bike Race again this year. The clock is ticking and it'll take doubles to assure I'm race ready by the middle of July. We rode up to Little Baldy and then over to Big Blue. As I pushed off to ride back down from the summit sitting back on my saddle I immediately felt the seat disappear from underneath of me. The clanking of metal parts on the exposed granite told the story before I lay eyes on the problem...ANOTHER &*^$@# broken seat clamp bolt! As the seat post narrowly missed my delicate undercarriage I came to an abrupt stop, not 2 meters from where I began. Last year during the NH-12 adventure race the same thing happened. Except I was no less than 5 miles from the next TA. With the seat duct tapped to the post I became an anchor to my teammates as level riding became a quad burner (with no serviceable seat!). I had contacted Easton when I returned from the race and explained what had happened. They explained, at the time, that the single bolt set-up was somewhat of a design flaw and that future generations of their seat posts boast two bolts as a standard feature. To their credit, their customer service folks were pretty receptive and offered to send me as many bolt/clamp replacement kits as I wanted. It was that replacement bolt that failed today. I guess the good news is that it happened on a training ride less than a mile from the car. With a bottom bracket and rear hub ready for the scrap heap it looks like my next bike-related expense will actually be a new seat post.

[Photo credits: mountain biking Mt. Blue Job, Duct tape: Use #458; backcountry seat repair]