August 21 - Continuing Saga of My Bike

This morning I went to the Trek dealer in Cedar City and the mechanic was not going to be in today. The clerk suggested I take the bike to another bike shop in town. I did, and the mechanic working there put the bike up on a rack, checked the shifting and declared that I would have to replace the shifter. I called Bikes Unlimited in St. George, told them what I had been told; the man I talked with was not Ian who had worked on the bike, but still seemed surprised, but told me they had no shifters for my Ultegra components available. A few other bike shops were suggested, and I called all of them with no luck. I started calling shops in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas and still no luck except for one shop that had a complete set for over $600. After calling probably 30 shops I decided to call Bikes Unlimited again in St. George and was able to speak with Ian. He really didn’t think the shifter was broken and Steve and I decided to return to St. George to have him look at it. It took Ian about 2 minutes to determine the cable had somehow wound itself inside the shifter and all he would have to do was remove it (apparently, sometimes that is not an easy task, but in my case it took him no time at all) and put in a new cable. He also put on a new chain that fit properly for me. This time I test rode the bike before leaving town, and, as it turned out Ian really needed to do some more adjustments before I could get it to shift into the big ring (glad I test rode it this time!). He and I both tested it again and everything worked smoothly. I now have a bike!

Nancy's New Bike

I did miss the big (over 4000 ft.) hill climb up to Cedar Breaks today over a very rough, narrow road with lots of traffic. I was initially disappointed I wasn’t going to be able to do the ride, but after driving over the route I was glad to have missed it. The route was spectacularly beautiful but I’m not sure Dana and Lisa were really able to enjoy it due to the roughness of the road and the traffic. Steve and I stopped at Cedar Breaks and enjoyed the beautiful views. On the drive we had to stop for a herd of sheep crossing the road at their own pace. We’re staying in Panguitch Lake Resort which is located in a really beautiful mountainous area of Utah. Dana took Mo down to the lake for a swim, which was probably the highlight if his day. I tested out my bike again this evening and it worked perfectly. Thank you Ian and Bicycles Unlimited! http://www.bicyclesunlimited.com/

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Panguitch Lake, UT