Indolent58
01-27-07, 07:49 PM
This seems to be a day for changed plans. Got up early to drive to Borrego Springs for the Century this AM. There was a fairly light turnout for the event - maybe 300. After the first 10 miles or so I rode mostly solo. It seemed like everyone I talked to at the rest stops had been at the Stagecoach and were still telling stories to each other about how cold they had been. Today of course was much warmer, although it stayed overcast for much of the morning.
The Borrego Springs course goes in two loops - the first about 59 miles and the second 40ish miles. No major hills in the first loop but there were a lot of deceptively flat looking gradual inclines. I was progressing at what for me is a good pace and was on track for a personal best century time. At the end of the first loop I discovered that I could not unclip my left foot because the cleat was rotating on the shoe. I had to extract my foot from the shoe and then wrench the shoe off the pedal. It turned out that one of the cleat bolts had sheared off. I didn't have a spare bolt, but if I had I wouldn't have been able to remove the bolt fragment in the shoe anyway.
I briefly considered doing the second loop anyway and just not dismounting completely at the rest stops, but I concluded that not being able to quickly dismount would be dangerous and boneheaded. Fortunately the 1st loop terminated back at the start so I could load my bike on my car end and my would-be Century with a fizzle.
The only upside it that I took this as a sign from the angry and vengeful Bike Gear Gods that I should buy the new pedals and shoes that I have been thinking about for some time. Picked up a pair of Specialized Carbon Comps and Ultegra SPD-SLs on the way home. Back out tomorrow to reclaim my stolen miles.
The Borrego Springs course goes in two loops - the first about 59 miles and the second 40ish miles. No major hills in the first loop but there were a lot of deceptively flat looking gradual inclines. I was progressing at what for me is a good pace and was on track for a personal best century time. At the end of the first loop I discovered that I could not unclip my left foot because the cleat was rotating on the shoe. I had to extract my foot from the shoe and then wrench the shoe off the pedal. It turned out that one of the cleat bolts had sheared off. I didn't have a spare bolt, but if I had I wouldn't have been able to remove the bolt fragment in the shoe anyway.
I briefly considered doing the second loop anyway and just not dismounting completely at the rest stops, but I concluded that not being able to quickly dismount would be dangerous and boneheaded. Fortunately the 1st loop terminated back at the start so I could load my bike on my car end and my would-be Century with a fizzle.
The only upside it that I took this as a sign from the angry and vengeful Bike Gear Gods that I should buy the new pedals and shoes that I have been thinking about for some time. Picked up a pair of Specialized Carbon Comps and Ultegra SPD-SLs on the way home. Back out tomorrow to reclaim my stolen miles.