New Steed
A couple of months ago, on the spur of the moment, I decided to join good friend (and Cornish pasty-munching Ironman triathlete) Rhys Ellis-Davies in entering the Saab Salomon Mountain Mayhem 24-hour mountain bike race. In fact, I decided to enter Tony as well, despite the fact he's never raced a mountain bike. I think the last time I did was eight or nine years ago. To add a little spice to the challenge, Tony no longer even had a mountain bike, and mine was stolen four weeks after entering the race. (The fourth member of our team is Tom Longland, grandson of 1933 Mount Everest hero Jack Longland.)
It dawned on me one afternoon in Greenland that although the event was fast approaching, neither of us had a set of wheels. After a few abortive attempts at getting sponsored bikes, I spotted something promising on eBay. A couple of days and a few emails later, the bike's owner brought it round, and it was love at first sight. A fairly vintage Specialized S-Works M4 (either 2001 or 2002) that, to my delight, hadn't seen much in the way of use. Sadly, it hadn't seen much in the way of love, either – it was covered in grease and dirt and my fingers looked like I'd dipped them in tar after putting the chain back on. I felt like I'd found a starving thoroughbred racehorse living in a garden shed, or a mistreated Siberian husky chained to a pole in a dusty yard with an empty water bowl. I simply had to buy it, and give it a better home.
Once in the safety of my living room, I took it apart and inspected the damage. I'd been assured that the tyres had 'plenty of life left in them', but the back one had a hefty rip in the sidewall. There was a sizeable dent in the rear rim and one of the spokes was completely loose (although the wheels still ran perfectly true). It had no brakes, no grips and no pedals, so I drew up a shopping list and raided both the Fulham and West End branches of Evans Cycles, and after a bit of nifty spanner-work (and some nerve-wracking, sweaty-palms hacksawing as I cut the steerer tube down) it was time for a bit of spit 'n' polish. The results were startling – with a bit of love (and a full bottle of degreaser) lavished on it, the bike looks like new.
At least it did, until I took it for a burn around Richmond Park this morning. It's now caked in orange dust…
— Filed under Cycling