BIG NEWS!

So Devon (my Best Friend Forever For Now) saw my post about 2 weeks ago about there being a hole in my bike frame. Here's the hole as shown in that post:

YEP. YOU PROBABLY KNOW WHERE THIS IS HEADED. Here's how it got there.

Devon sent me this text just a few hours after I posted about my bike:

I was really not in the market for a new bike. In fact, my first thought when I heard Jared at Gear West Bike and Tri tell me there was a hole in my bike frame was "Well dang, what am I going to ride next year?" And not "WOO HOO! I'm gonna get a new bike!" Then when he said it wasn't structurally a problem for the bike, I was relived. So I texted Devon back with this:

I showed my wife my messages with Devon, and we had a laugh. It was in NO way a passive aggressive way to ask about getting a new bike (I hate crap like that).

The $200 comment was about getting a big tune-up, new cables, a new chain, etc.
We still weren't interested in getting a new bike at the moment.

That was the end of the conversation.

Then, out of the blue the next morning, my wife texts me this from work:

I sent Devon that screenshot ASAP:

I went out to test ride the bike last weekend. It was nice. Carbon frame with super nice Sram Red 22 components. It was a little big, but the stem, aerobars, and seat could all be adjusted. I didn't bring any money because I knew I wanted to think about it and talk it about with Pharmie. I'm not an impulse buyer, and I knew I'd have this bike for a long time (note that my bike Goldilocks is 7-8 years old).

Then, a few days later, I get out of the gym to find FOURTEEN missed messages from Devon:

Here's most of Devon's messages - I took the ones out that mentioned "confidential" info:

So I went back on Wednesday to try the new, cheaper bike. And I FINALLY delivered our winning relay trophy to Devon from 3 months ago:

Jeremy and I accepting our 3 trophies without Devon as seen in my LTF Tri Relay race report.

Sidenote: Here's a little-known story. Devon, Jeremy, and I met in the military on a special forces team. Here we are in our greatest moment in training:

Basically, the set up Devon had for me was a Blue full carbon frame, nice Sram Red 22 components (worth more than the frame), a super deep front wheel, a disc back wheel, a set of training wheels, and matching cassettes for both rear wheels to make swapping wheels easy. That's a $5-6,000 set up that he could sell to me for 1/3 that price. Here she is:

SEXY, RIGHT?!?!?!?!

Their mechanic had a few things to do to it, so I left it there for a few days. They wrapped the bars and installed the 2 cassettes. Devon brought it to his house, and I went to pick it up from him this past weekend:

Getting major smoochies from Teddy.


Devon loaded my bike for me. That's service... service in sweet man slippers.


Charlie trying to make sense of what is in the backseat with him.

How'd I get such a great deal? It wasn't really because Devon and I are BFFFNs. Devon works at The Racery in the west Metro. The Racery gets bikes from racing teams and pro bikers after they're done with them. The mechanics at The Racery fix them up, they take some photos in their photo studio (where the 4 photos of my bike came from), and put them online. They're mainly an online store, but they don't mind people stopping by. (Devon told me that he sees 1-4 real, live people each week.) If you know what you want, they're a great resource. They have super nice components, nice wheelsets, and sweet frames moving through all the time.

If you want a Zipp wheelset, or you have $XXX to spend on wheels, or want a high-end 54" road bike frame for less than $XXX, shoot them a note and have them keep an eye out for you.

The *possible* story of my bike is probably like many they have there. It was probably on tour with a cycling team, sat in a truck full of bikes for a few months, was ridden for a few TTs (at most), was thrown back into the team truck for a while, and then ended up at The Racery. There's some tape residue on the bars and some scuffs on the frame. But it's a hell-a-va deal. Devon didn't ask me to say anything about them; all these thoughts are my own perception of what they do at The Racery. Contact them if you have some cycling needs.

As for my trusty old bike Goldilocks... I think I'll keep her through the winter. I'll do most of my winter trainer work on her (just because I feel like that's a lot of stress on a bike frame). Then I'll probably see if I can sell her in the early spring. Want a sturdy, well-maintained, old bike? I know a guy...

Now if you'll excuse me, I hope to take an hour today (my 15th day of rest) to go test my new bike. Keep an eye on my Instagram and/or twitter to see how it goes. And big thanks to the fellas at The Racery for the sweet new ride! And thanks to Devon OF COURSE.