HPG Sox Arrive at Peet’s…I feel faster already…
Well, they made it. Finally. They will make us all faster I’m sure. Kudos to Eric for putting up with all of us. No good deed goes unpunished. Nothing like a little Peet’s Coffee to make your sox small better.
Assos…They Just Do Some Things Better
For some reason this exchange from a few years back, particularly John’s inspired list of potential causes of chamois wear, inspiringly funny…
On 9/22/09 2:45 PM, “Damon Bates” wrote:
All of you inbox challenged folk may delete this now.
First , Tom D., congrats on your brand spankin new bionic knee, hope you are feeling better and back in the saddle soon.
Second, I thought Id share my first experience w/ Assos customer service dept. Sept 1st ish I sent back 2 pair of Roubaix Knickers Ive had for 3+ years. They see heavy use (and diligent care) 9 mos of the year and are the most frequently worn items I have. The chamois had come unstitched on the sides and needed to be resewn and their website provides instructions on how to return etc
I got them back yesterday , individually shrink wrapped and packaged the way only the Swiss can. BUT, they didn’t just sew on the chamois, the replaced theentire pad. And they do all this for free. Note that this is not warrantee service, they just do it.
In a world of often miserable customer service and ridiculous fees from banks, airlines, et al, It’s nice to know that some companies are still committed to excellence
It was a small inspirational moment I thought worth passing along.
I wore a pair this morning and of course got dropped like stone on Farm. But I was happy and comfy.
From: John Whisnant
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 9:29 PM
Damon –
What a great company. I am sending back my Assos for repair immediately as soon as you send me their mailing address. If it were my company, I would at least ask what was the cause of the knickers chamois wear so that I could use this information to improve an already great product. For example, Assos could have asked the following:
Damon, please check the appropriate box to let us know what caused your chamois to need repair:
1. Fire in the hole after a particularly tasty burrito with extra hot sauce the night before.
2. Trying to impress the Crack o’ Dawn more feminine riders with an extra cucumber that stretched the fabric to the breaking point.
3. Using a wire brush to try to ‘erase’ chamois skid marks.
4. Using the knickers as a Depends substitute during a company performance review.
5. Thinking that wearing your knickers over your head while drinking Belgium beer can only add to how incredibly funny you are and the holiday-like festivities.
6. Forgetting to apply Assos crème (yes you need to use the correct European spelling) prior to a Saturday Carlisle ride.
7. Not scheduling your next Brazilian Bikini waxing in time and having resulting pubic stubble abrade the chamois, especially around the anus (the Swiss are very precise in their questions).
8. Fire in the hole after a particularly tasty low fat poppy seed muffin at Peet’s.
9. You don’t know since you are actually sending in Oscar Lazaro’s Assos knickers for repair, which he got from Giuseppe after he emailed the HPG asking if anyone had a pair of large Assos knickers they weren’t using for the next two months.
10. All of the above.
John
From: Bates, Damon
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 6:19 PM
Asking for the cause of the damage is a great idea….for Plebian American Capitalist Entrepreneurial New World Gringo Peasant Religious Radical types like us.
But, these are the Swiss we’re dealing with here….Italian Swiss to be specific. They ALREADY KNOW what the causes are and they even tell you about them on their website…and offer to repair it for free, if humanly possibly, because life happens
Check it out: http://www.assos.com/en/24/default.aspx
From: Bates, Damon
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 11:32 AM
So I sent a Assos an inspired thank you note for exceeding my expectations wrt the aforementioned Roubaix Knickers repair and I receive a a personal note from the GM and a box today w/ an Assos “Fan Pack” consisting of a very attractive coffee mug and a towel creatively (and efficiently of course…) packaged in a nice box about the size of a champagne bottle gift box.
Love this company. Maybe we can buy it? LBO? Wait it’s Swiss…perhaps we could just make their espresso?
The Sun Always Shines in Wellesley…
…but pedal ones way out of town on a saturday morning in late spring and all bets are off. Today’s debut ride for the spanking new HPG kits planned for Hollis turned into an aborted Carlisle mission when the rubber side went up. All got home safe and sound though and lived to fight another day….oh and the sun was still shining in Wellesley sans pluie
2008 B2B – Damon Bates
Statistical Summary
Energy Expenditure 6,326 kcal
Number of Heart Beats 82,075 beats
Distance 145 miles
TTL Ascent 6,480 ft
Course profile chart below in shaded area. Rather revealing.
Captain, Oh Captain
Sometimes the lure of a distinctive fashion accessory is just too to much (for me) to ignore. Like a shiny object, the prospect of having “CAPTAIN” emblazoned on the back of my jersey rather than a mere plebeian “Harpoon” was simply too much to ignore. So I rose to the bait. So began the task of dragging the 17rs for the 1st 10 miles. Thanks to Tom Day for sharing that load.
Hurry up and ….Crash
Despite the apparent narcissism and fashion OCD, I do view the Captian role as a responsibility rather than an opportunity having witnessed an excess of stupidity over the years. So I was not surprised when, at the rather responsible sub 20 pace we set, we were overtaken by the group behind us hell bent on on destruction. Why some folk feel compelled to blast through the 1st 10 mi of 145 mi ride, in city traffic, is beyond me. so, sure enough they all wrecked in the middle of an intersection in Arlington as we casually rolled by. Caught in the fray unfortunately, was Ed Sassler, who many of you may know from Wheelworks. Fortunately, when I caught him at the 2nd water stop he seemed no worse for the wear.
Suffering is…
800+ ft of climbing over 4.2 miles …..at 90 mi. (See profile below) Somehow I never got this memo….only one about an “improved” route around Keene A 3.75% grade doesn’t sound like much out of context but this was excruciating. For perspective that’s almost twice as steep as the 1.9% grade of 1st climb after the 1st water stop. I haven’t seen people walk up climbs in a long time but there were at least a half dozen on this climb. This was stupid hard. Put it in the 34 x 27 and hang on for dear life. My average speed was 7.4 mph on this schlog…..would be curious how others fared….but I know I wont get a straight answer from the usual and customary suspects… 🙂
Sometimes Quicker Really is Better
To add insult to injury, don’t forget to throw not one, but 2 flat tires into the mix at about 115 miles. the Cycleloft guys deserve major kudos here for changing the second one in under 30 seconds. Very impressive ….and convenient. And thanks to Charlie and Ian for stopping and waiting…..it would have been an agonizing final 36 mi. solo. BTW Ian’s not the Slug he claims to be, particularly on what must be the oldest bike being ridden yesterday….some 25+ years old
Don’t Leave Home Without ’em
Endurolites that is. Think I went through 2 fistfuls. I think the real ticket is, as Eric suggests, mixing the powdered version into your liquid of choice or , my preference, a 4-6 scoop / bottle slurry of Perpetum then having capsules as on hand as a rip cord
The Agony and Ecstasy of Thin , Cheap Lycra
Having spent a lot of time at, and w/ a good view of, the back (not by choice) I’ve found that Pearlizumi shorts are particularly prone to this phenomenon. In a ride like B2B this can be problematic about 80-90% of the time and intriguing the other 15%….or, perhaps the other way around. So consider yourself….warned and informed, depending on your perspective.
Yet Another Marketing Oversight
I was disappointed, stunned and appalled that no where on the the finishing T shirt were the TTL mileage and vertical memorialized to demonstrate to all non riding civilians, including our spouses, that we are far tougher than our incessant whining would seem to indicate. Jesse Cox and Adam Bailey will have at least one email waiting for them come Monday morning
The Broom Wagon
The fun part of sliding ones way to the back of the bunch over 145 miles is that it’s like a reunion. I got to see more people on this DL than I have all year. Oddly, as everyone rides past me I’m left w/ so many questions:
1. Why doesn’t Tucker’s metabolism slow down like the rest of us? and is his BMI really a negative number as rumored?
2. As John W also suggest, what is Giuseppe on anyway, and how can I get some?
3. What happened to Tom, Tom and Tom? they were here a min. ago?
4. Why didn’t Eric ride the whole thing? I really wanted to see him suffer for once.
5. How does Rock Lederman manage to so consistently accessorize himself every year
6. How did I manage to catch Ed Sassler at the 2nd water stop?? (perhaps I don’t suck as badly as I thought?…no, I do…)
7. Why didn’t I find Stan’s wheel sooner? (its glorious back there)
8. How did I manage to lose Stan’s wheel so quickly ….?
9. Where did Giuseppe come from, what is he on and how do I get some? Legally. Molto Bene. (sp?)
10. How can I be like Ray when I grow up?
….and the list goes on…
Here concludes another self indulgent edition edition of The View From The Back
damonbates
HPG Bike Blog 