My brand new China dream - slightly shattered...

A portrait of my new bride by Chris

Bend rim (hard to photo)

Smashed left shifter

Right shifter also kaput!

Coming back from Kratie, I could not wait to touch down. Like a groom awaiting his new bike, I mean bride, Chris (he has one too) informed me that my custom fitted Surly Long Haul Trucker Touring Bike was finally ready. Each part was carefully selected, from Brooks B17 English leather saddle, Mary On One Bar, the controversial love it or hate it handlebar, Shimano 2008 XT componentary on most parts and Maxxis Overdrive Kelvar protected tires. It was a joy to ride it back from his home in Lakeview on a lovely Saturday evening and I took the long road home. Comfortable, crisp, responsive, sturdy and oh, soooo smooth - ready for my ride to China.

One crazy Malaysian guy has just successfully rode home from Duke University to Malaysia, a total of 27000km over 10 months on the Surly LHT. I can't wait to test mine over a longish ride which I am planning soon to Mersing, a Malaysian town 200km for a fund raising event for Cambodian children.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=2405&v=2Ig

Unfortunately last night, I made a mistake of lending this pride and joy to a 18yo teenager who in turn lend it to his 16 yo friend without permission. The result was disastrous, my one week old China dream ticket crashed. My heart was pierced and I was fuming mad! It was not a pleasant sleep I had to say the least. I wonder if anyone has had such an unpleasant experience?

Guess this Easter, the learning point for me is forgiveness. Also, to put people before things but ah, this is my "bride". Anyway, a closer inspection of the damage revealed smashed up LX Shifters (good thing I did't opt for XT), scraped Avid brake levers and a bend rim for now.

I hope my young friends will learn something about valuing and respecting the trust given to them. And if they can learn a little about being a wee bit more responsible in handling other people's things, then this painful experience of mine will be worth it, shattered dreams and all...

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The message of Easter is - the death and resurrection of Jesus brings life to us and strangely, I believe that message of hope is relevant here too.