Saga of the Speedster

As I posted back on March 20, i dropped my one and only road bike off a Kennebec Bike and Ski for a thorough tune up and upgrade of a part or two. I upgraded to an ultegra 10 speed cassette and Alex at the shop threw it on and proceeded to work the derailleurs for compatibility as I used to run a 9-speed, but have the gear (or so i thought) for 10-speed shifting. All went well until Alex tried to shift using the levers. Turns out my break/shifters are exclusively 9-speed and would not work with my new upgrade. I needed to put the older 9-speed cassette back on or upgrade to 10-speed shifters. Sounds like a nice opportunity to upgrade the brake/shifters to ultegra except for one small problem. The upgrade would cost me around $350, which I certainly don't have. Steve gave me a good deal on a pair of new 105 10-speed brake levers/shifters, but I had to wait for the part to be mailed from shimano AND wait for the next paycheck (I get paid ONCE a month at KHS, which is a serious drag) to pay for the parts and the tune-up work, which is just as important.


Well last week I got a call that that after Alex put the new gear on the left shifter was faulty and was broken right out of the box. I now needed to wait 'till this Tuesday, 4/14 for the new part. To boot, Steve is short handed as John is away on family business and Alex is on vacation. After some poor pitiful me talk on the phone, Steve as told me the bike will be ready by this weekend (I hope you read this Steve!) but hopefully sooner, like this Thursday. I am racing Sunday in the SMCC Saco Industrial Park Criterium (hence forth SIP crit) with Wheels and I REALLY need to log a couple of rides to get used to the road position again, as I've been riding my mt. bike and stationary bike. My fitness is good, but I am dire need of some saddle time on the speedster. So, hopefully Steve will come through (he always does) and get me on the road in a couple of days. Until then, more creative training and wishful thinking!