Broken

Last weekend Dad and I were going to attempt our longest ride yet...70+ miles on the "Tour of Faith" near Peachtree City.  48 miles in, I heard a sound I've grown to hate: it's a metallic pop from the rear wheel, the sound of a spoke breaking.

The wheel goes out of true immediately and the bike becomes unrideable.

The frustration of the moment was complex and therefore hard to capture all in words.  Indulge me while I try.

Not only had this incident meant that that particular ride was over, it also meant I'd have to either see if the spoke could be replaced or if I'd have to buy a new wheel.  This was also the THIRD TIME this has happened.  When I bought the bike, I was very transparent with the salesman, letting him know that I weigh more than I look like I weigh, but he said it shouldn't be a problem--these were high quality wheels.  True enough, as the front wheel has been a beast and given me no trouble.  But I busted spokes on the back wheel twice before I realized I needed something a little more...substantial.  More spokes, slightly wider base.  And it cost me a pretty penny.  Add to this that on the day of that ride, we were exactly two weeks out from THE ride, so any time that the bike would be in the shop meant less miles in training in these crucial last days.  Add to this that the likely reason my spokes keep breaking is that I'm simply too heavy...and I don't know anyone who likes sever and repeated reminders that he is overweight.  Add to this that I felt like I was letting dad down.  Add to this that I began to seriously wonder if we'd be able to complete the ride.

In a word, I was broken, perhaps even more so than the spoke.  Anger, frustration, self-pity, and doubt can wound a heart so much more than unequal distribution of body weight on a rotating rod of aluminum can untrue a bike wheel.

Getting it fixed proved to be much more difficult than I imagined it could be.  My local bike shop had so many repairs lined up before me that they said they wouldn't be able to get to mine until this weekend (May 30th).  Unacceptable.  So I found a shop in Buford that could get me in.  Long story short, they replaced the spoke and suggested that I "stand when I go over rough terrain" to keep the stress off the back wheel.

So anyway, the call of the moment is to release expectation and rejoice in the successes of the past and to hold on to eager hope for the future.  Please keep me and dad in your prayers!  Please pray especially for the patients at OLPH Cancer Home!  And you can try to cheer me up by making a donation!!!

O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke your most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let your name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on you, for, in all my needs, in all my temptations I shall never cease to call on you, ever repeating your sacred name, Mary, Mary.