I tried to deck her out in only the best, much to my other bikes despise and constantly was upgrading her equipment and buying her new and fancy things. She knew that each Ironman would be preceded by new presents to help her get ready for the big day ahead. Below is a picture of her all decked out and nervous before her first foray into the wonderful world of Ironman down in Panama City Beach in Florida. I had rented a pair of Zipp 606’s for her because “baby needs a new pair of shoes!” and I just wanted to go fast!
She treated me well at IMFL and I came away with my first 20+mph split in an Ironman. It was a good day, but she wanted more. She urged me to test my meddle in the mountains, so I strapped her to the back of my car and we traveled to the North Country to have a go at Lake Placid. The first round went great, we hit the podium and collected more and more IM stickers on her top tube. Gathering more and more by hitting up Wisconsin in 2008 and finally we made our way to Placid again in 2009. 
We went all out for the ride in Placid in 2009. Traveling to the mountains several times, we became comfortable on the hills and rode as one. By this time, she was pretty with ceramic derailleur pulley’s, a fully integrated carbon cockpit, carbon fork spacers, carbon water bottle cages, carbon TT brake levers, brand new borrowed Zipp 808’s and even my name stenciled on the seat collar. (Thank you eBay because that upgrade cost like $5)
She was looking really pretty come race day and we had an excellent first loop. We split it off and were really cranking on the hills. It felt effortless as we strode thru the first loop in a time of 2:35, good for a 21.6mph split on the first loop. In my mind it was destined to be a day I would not forget. The BEAST had other plans for me though. Below is the last photo that was taken while she was still alive...
We caught a crosswind on the 2nd loop and she got a little finicky on the downhill. Unfortunately, this is where she ultimately met her demise. Her beautiful carbon handlebars spun around and cracked the carbon top tube of her frame as I launched over the handlebars and onto the pavement. Most of you know the rest of the story from there, and if you don’t, just go back and read THIS. The crack in the top tube and my subsequent black out led me to have to replace her as she couldn’t be trusted to stay in one piece for the upcoming seasons (you know, due to the carbon being structurally not-sound…)
But with every sad song, comes a silver lining. And with that being said and me getting on the bike again rather quickly and, you know, still be alive and all, I was in need of a new chariot and new companion to share my many miles of trials with. So for the 2010 season and beyond, the new addition to my arsenal will be (drum roll please…..)
Introducing the “Lunar Phoenix” or in short “LP” (notice the similarity to IMLP….) the story of the phoenix is that they rise up from the ash into something that is more beautiful than the original creation. The BEAST had to die on the downhill section so that the lunar phoenix could be born. For those keeping track at home, the BEAST was a Cervelo P2 and good old LP will be a brand spanking new Cervelo P3. Now I do not know which color I will be getting, but I’ve put in a preference of the black and grey one because it looks way sweeter. But we’ll see what TriSpot orders me. Thanks guys for all of your hard work on the crash replacement.So in sadness, let us all give a moment of silence for the fallen comrades of late. Beast you will be truly missed. Thru 4 seasons of long course racing and over 9,700 miles, she definitely paid her dues. But you did not die in vain; it was thru your death that a new companion could be born. The lunar phoenix (2010 - 20??).
1 comment:
RIP Beast. May you go to a better place where your owner doesn't brand you with is mark. And perhaps one where he eats less mexican during his training.
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