Still Waiting

The bike is basically done.

That is somehow the most frustrating part.

After weeks of sourcing parts, second-guessing compatibility, fighting brake hardware, figuring out cable routing, realizing at the eleventh hour that wheels actually need rim tape—because apparently bicycles require their own minor degree in mechanical engineering—I finally got to the point where there was almost nothing left.

Tires are mounted. Tubes are in. Rear derailleur is installed. Brakes are functional. Crank, saddle, wheels, cockpit—all there.

The front derailleur is the holdout.

And naturally, that is the package USPS has decided to send on a grand tour of the Southeast.

Tracking says it started in Michigan, moved through Illinois, reached Georgia, then Birmingham, then Huntsville, then Madison. At that point, I thought I was finally home free. The damn thing was practically within throwing distance.

Then USPS sent it to Atlanta.

Atlanta.

So as of today, October 7, I am still waiting on the single component standing between this bike and being officially finished.

There is something almost poetic about that.

This entire build has been a lesson in patience. I started with a frame and a pile of individual components, many of which I had never installed before. Every step has required figuring something out: what fits, what does not, which bolt goes where, how cables route through parts I have never touched, how much tension something needs, what specialty part I apparently forgot to order.

There have been plenty of moments where I have stared at the bike and thought, What the hell am I doing?

Then I figured it out.

One problem at a time.

And now there are no mechanical problems left to solve. No tool I need to buy. No YouTube rabbit hole I need to disappear into.

I just need the United States Postal Service to stop playing hot potato with my Shimano front derailleur.

The irony is that this bike exists because I am training for something that demands patience anyway. You do not build toward a 70.3 overnight. You do not build endurance overnight. You do not build a mission like For The 22 overnight.

You keep moving when progress is obvious.

And you keep moving when it is not.

So the bike sits there, nearly complete, waiting for one final piece.

And so do I.

Hopefully, the next entry about this bike starts with:

It's finished.