A series of unfortunate events …

May 2018 – A very overweight professor at a “Liberal Arts” college goes to his basement and resurrects his old Bicycle. So far so good …

Several months and numerous upgrades later and both the professor and the bike are in much better condition. The quest for improved performance continues, did I mention I was a bit obsessive? The mechanical connection between rider and bike is identified as the weakest link.

New clipless spd pedals are acquired, after all it is what the pros use so why not. Shortly after a new better (lighter and faster) bike is acquired and similarly fitted out.

Then on a circuit of Haverford college the professor takes a corner too fast and the bike slides away from him. Sadly, not quite all of him as his left foot is still clipped in …

After suitable recuperation and extensive physiotherapy the pedals are replaced with flat mountain bike pedals and suitable shoes are purchased

The value of Good (and bad) decisions

So which was the bad decision?

Shall we do a Fishbone analysis?

Well, the proximal bad decision was going too fast round a bend and not unclipping in time. The precursor to this calamity, however, was persisting in using clipless pedals even when I was aware that I really was not terribly good at unclipping.

Of bikes and men …

One of my favorite bikes (Nigel) was a Nigel Dean World Tour. This was a late 1980s British tourer, one of the last of its type. It featured a Reynolds 531 Super Tourer steel frame , thumb shifters and a 3 x 7 Suntour drivetrain and weighed in at a whopping 29lbs.

The red bike (Odin) – which I still ride – is a 2018 base model Specialized Allez with an alloy frame and a relatively slim 22lbs, Shimano Claris groupset and decent rim brakes.

My most recent ride (Baldur) is a 2024 Canyon Endurace with a full Shimano 105 groupset, relaxed geometry, carbon seat tube, disc brakes and DT Swiss wheels. Still regarded as an entry level road bike but a world away from old Nigel.