Spoilt

I'm the kind of person that likes to do things myself. It's not that I don't trust people to do things for me, I just don't trust people to do things for me. I like to know all the details, like all the interesting quirks that you get with a second hand car. Don't wind down the passenger window cause it won't go back up. Lock the car with the key because the central locking is faulty. Etc, etc, etc. Unless you own the car and do things yourself, how will you ever find these things out?

When it comes to my bike, wanting to do everything myself means that no one else touches it. When your bike costs more money than your car, generally you want to take pretty damn good care of it. However, between travelling, racing and training, there is very little opportunity to do any maintenance on your bike. Consequently, you have to let someone else do it. And to be honest, I like it.

During races, your bike gets cleaned and serviced every day. Before you start, your tires are pumped up, water bottles are filled and energy gels are ready to go. During a tour, for the first couple of stages I like to help out where I can. After this, I quickly become too tired to care and I leave my bike in the capable hands of the team mechanic.

The only thing that I am concerned about now, is that I hope I don't get used to it!