Cape Epic Bikes

[V12man]

I get that these bikes are maintained well, the problem is more that in an event like this, you tend to just ride one regardless of whether your bike is destroying itself. You've paid, you're there, it's all about "commitment" and "perseverance", you can't let your team mate down, etc. Someone who is pedantic about his bike (me) would not in a million years go for a ride in conditions seen during the first few days of the Epic. It's just not worth that microscopic damage that the grinding paste these guys pushed on through does to their machines, in my opinion.

 

I freely admit that I don't ride when it pours with rain or is exceptionally muddy. I have ridden through enough crap in my cycling life to know that it's not worth it. Maybe it's because I've rebuilt bikes many many times after rides like these, maybe it's because I feel that the hundreds of rides I still intend to do aren't going anywhere, and that intentionally #$ing up a pristine machine just because I don't want to wait until the weather's clear is just plain silly.

 

Anyway, I don't form part of the Epic target market, so don't take me too seriously

 

Bikes are tools.... replaceable... in part or completely... they are not objects to be mollycoddled... even if they are pretty... a little patina is not a bad thing....

 

It's like owning an Estwing hammer (a beautiful tool to look at and to use) and not hitting nails in with it because you might damage it.... you lose out on the good experience of actually using it properly... similarly with historic racecars (HUGE value sometimes) - they were built to be raced and raced hard... and just polishing them and treating them as art undervalues them completely... because the experience of using them properly is of much greater value... likewise just watching them be used properly is of value... even if sometimes they are damaged in the process... they can be fixed.