Everything Old...

Last century's Centurion

So when does your old bike become your new ride? When you take your “new” bike into the shop after an exciting race that weekend and get the news that makes your heart drop into your stomach. “Your frame is cracked in two places.” Not only where these words crushing to hear just a day after experiencing such an amazing day racing, but they were ironic as well. You see, this is not the first time I’ve heard these words.

Somewhere around 1999 I purchased a Specialized Allez aluminum bike.  That bike was a substantial upgrade over my old steel Centurion Dave Scott Iron Man Masters (although the Centurion has it beat on the length of the name).  The Allez felt so much lighter and quicker.  While I have many fond memories of riding the Centurion, it was quickly relegated to collecting dust in the garage in favor of its younger, faster successor. 



The younger and faster Allez fresh from riding the Sierra Tahoe Century



A few years into owning the Allez I sprinted hard from a dead stop at a stop light. (I enjoyed doing this to see how fast I could get up to and would do it at some point on every ride.)  Well, the frame wasn’t up to the task on this day; I heard a noise (I can’t even remember what it sounded like now) and the frame felt funny.  I eased up and took a look.  The frame was cracked on the side of the drive train.  I was a long way from home so I decided to see if I could limp back.  I made it back safely and took the bike back to where I had bought it to have the frame replaced by Specialized. It would take about a month to get the Allez back.

This left me with my old Centurion, dusted off and brought out of the stable for some more adventures.  The first few rides were awful but after a while I started to get used to it again.  It did always have flawless shifting that I haven’t had in any bike I have owned since.  However I have been forever spoiled by the integrated shifting of newer bikes I have owned.  Having to take my hands off the handlebars and reach down for the levers is a pain.  The frame flexed a lot and the bike didn’t feel as spry on the hills or sprints. The Centurion had served me well but his era was long gone and I longed for the effortlessness of the Allez.

I rode the Allez hard, including putting a couple of centuries on him, but time passed and he too became more of a relic than a ride.  When I had an amazing opportunity to purchase a used Specialized Tarmac, it became the Allez’s turn to go out to pasture.  History repeated itself and with far more painful thoroughness than I could have though possible.

It was on Sunday, the day after the Bicycles Plus Early Bird Criterium, that I took the Tarmac into Bicycles Plus to have a shifting issue looked at. I was in shock, and initially in disbelief, when they came back with some bad news, unrelated to the shifting.  My frame had two cracks in it.  I don’t know when it happened.  I may have been riding the bike like this for the past year. No matter when or how, the Tarmac was no longer a viable riding option and I was left desolate with several races registered for over the next few weeks.

The fate of the frame was unknown. We were not sure if we could get the paperwork to get the frame replaced by the manufacturer and I was left contemplating trying to go back to the Allez as my primary road bike. If we can’t solve the problem with the Tarmac, we just can’t afford to replace it.

So it is time to take the old Allez out, dust it off, and get it ready for action once again.  I had it out there today doing high-tension hill repeats.  The frame is too small (that is another story…), the ergonomics of the handle bars are awful compared to the Tarmac, and it doesn’t feel as responsive when sprinting or going up hills.  Essentially, the Allez is now what the Centurion was many years ago.

And so now I wait to see what can be done and my next race is in a little under two weeks.  At this point I don’t know what is going to happen with the Tarmac. I can only hope and pray that I can get some good news. In the meantime I have to prepare as if I am taking the old race horse out one last time. (To be continued...)