Instant Karma gonna get you!

Instant Karma's gonna get you
Gonna knock you off your feet
Better recognize your brothers
Ev'ryone you meet
Why in the world are we here
Surely not to live in pain and fear
Why on earth are you there
When you're ev'rywhere
Come and get your share

-John Lennon

6:30pm 11/8/07 Just finish two laps at Stoney in a final Iceman preparation effort. I was feeling pretty good and high on life because I felt one with my bike, it was the Office/White Russian night at my household and I had found a really nice pair of Tifosi glasses on the trail.
Then the thought hit me; I should turn these glasses into the park office in case someone is looking for them. That fleeting thought was quickly abolished by my desire to have a new pair of glasses based on the finder’s keeper’s rule.

However, in the back of my mind I knew if I didn’t turn them in than I may run the risk of bad karma for the weekend.

6:30am 11/9/07 (exactly 12 hours later) I am enjoying my ride into work and feeling great because I have all my stuff packed and bike racked and am ready to jet out the door straight up north for a weekend of MTB gala.

BOOM! My thoughts: Someone has just shot at my car! Am I a victim of a drive-by? I don’t recall pissing anyone off that much.



Looking in my rear view mirror I discover that the rear quarter glass of my car is shattered and my beloved Trek 9.9 is dangling from my rack. I immediately threw on the emergency lights and pulled over on the left side of the very busy, very fast 696. Assessing the damage, I realize in the midst of my morning rush and slightly hazy White Russian induced mind, I had forgot to lock down my rear wheel causing the rear triangle of my bike to swing of the roof putting my drive side crank and pedal right through the window, cracking the top tube of my bike and rendering it un-raceable!


7:00am Arrive at work and immediately call a sub teacher for the day to fill my spot while I somehow locate a bike to race this weekend. This is a full-blown emergency!

9:00am Contact my insurance agent and make sure my bike is covered under homeowners…sure enough it is. This gave me hope that perhaps a newer, better bike may emerge from the catastrophic rubble.


10:00am Drop into to visit the friendly face of Cullen Watkins at ACF. Cullen set my soul at ease and hooked me up with his personal, identical to mine, Trek 9.9 to race this weekend. Thank you Cullen! You are my velo-hero.

Moral of the story: If you find something that is not yours, someone may be looking for it and missing it. Turn it in to the lost and found and spare your $5000 MTB and car windows!