A Valentine's Day Breakup

Long term relationship breakups are hard, but JC’s Bikes and Boards helped me get through it.

JC's Bikes and Boards in DeLand Florida is a great shop in Central Florida. My father-in-law took me to this local bike shop nearly 6 years ago for my first bike. Over the years both JC Figueredo and Ryan Flesch have had an incredible influence on cycling in the local community and me. JC and Ryan helped me upgrade gear, provided me with an intro to group riding, and dropped me on numerous occasions.

When I first got into cycling in 2015, JC had a used Giant Defy at the shop. $500 later I started getting miles. I was certainly a Fred, and a year later I was back at JC's ready to upgrade. JC helped me get setup with a year end closeout Giant Propel. I was interested in triathlons at the time, and the Giant Propel was a great cross over between true road and TRI geometry.

original Retul fit at the shop

The 2015 Propel was a thing of beauty with a fixed seat post, Dura-Ace group, and Zipp 404s. The Propel and I have traveled 30-40 thousand miles together. Since I joined the NYC racing scene in 2017, we have been to 55 races where I was propelled to the podium a handful of times. I've learned to wrap bars through countless rolls tape, perfected minor maintenance tasks, and progressed from chain lube to wax.

The wear of the miles and years is now visible on the frame. The paint finish has been loved on and worn. Rear derailleur, replaced once before, is losing the spring in its shift. The wheels still roll true, but are due for a second bearing replacement and hub alignment. The left hood has begun to tear.

I've loved the Propel, but every relationship is not without its pains. The fixed seat post, while beautiful, made traveling with the bike an ordeal. I had to take chainrings off in addition to handlebars, fork, and rear derailleur to fit into any normal sized bike bag. The brakes were also a constant give and take. With an independent spring and lever framed on each side of the wheel it was literally a give and take. Wheel rub was something I had to pay attention to frequently. The deep 404s were also great wind catchers and on a rainy or snowy day incredibly hard to stop.

I'm breaking up with the Propel, I have a new love interest. I don't know if the Propel will live out the remainder of its life fixed to the trainer, or be kept for rainy days. I haven't thought that far, but we will be growing apart. I took the Propel out for its last ride in Florida this weekend. We rode through Canaveral National Seashore Florida, what better place for a rocketship than a long, flat, coastal road.

Lots of memories on the camera roll.

A Vamoots Disc RSL will be my new main squeeze (stay tuned for more details on the build).