I took my 5 year old son and 9 yr old daughter for a ride on the bike path tonight (rode my Tarmac, like an idiot!). My son had an itch so I reached over to scratch his back--you guessed it, he lost his balance and came over and hit my front wheel (Mavic Kysrium SL). We were going less than 5 mph when it happened--but enough to bend one of the Zycral spokes!
Of course it wasn't his fault and I really tried hard not to be upset around him, but it was hard to hide my frustration with myself for two dumb decisions: riding my Tarmac instead of my MTB, and making contact with a new rider (he's only been riding less than two weeks). Nobody was hurt--that was the first thing I checked, of course...
I reassured him that it wasn't his fault, but he felt really bad--I was mad that I did something so stupid, so close to needing my bike. Of course, his sister made it worse by making him feel like it was his fault...
So, anyone know: will my local bike shop have black Mavic zycral spokes in stock to replace this spoke and retrue the wheel, or do I need to seriously search online (competitive cyclist seems to have them in stock as they rebuild wheels)? What are my chances of getting this fixed by Saturday? I'm really ticked (at myself) right now...
Any shops in Elgin, Chicago, Milwaukee, or the Madison area that can help? Desperate...