The Build Delay

Well!!

There's nothing quite like a good redundancy to interrupt a bike build.

After 25 years working for Lloyds TSB, man and boy from leaving school, a combination of bank policy and Financial Services Authority regulation changes has resulted in my role becoming surplus to requirements.

There was admittedly an offer on the table to stay, but it was in appealing as one of those cheap winter bikes I wanted to avoid with my 'Bike for All Seasons'. As a result I chose the second option - Voluntary Severance.

Financial Services is/are are a strange environment to work in. Despite the years and the loyalty it is immediately assumed you may be about to head off to a competitor with sensitive customer data. Therefore the moment VS is chosen I was sent on Gardening Leave.

Gardening Leave. There's a strange term. Being paid not to work sounds like fun. In actual fact it is hell on earth. All the things you want to do in your spare time get pushed down the list by a new set of to-do's which are suddenly more important. CV writing, joining LinkedIn, networking and emailing until your fingers hurt.

All of this has happened in the last 10 days. My new Kinesis Granfondo Ti has watched me impatiently throughout. I found time on Friday for what I thought would be the final build. I got as far as the successful installation of the star-fangled washer in the trimmed steerer-tube and the rethreading of cable outlets and inners. Sadly the employment fairies snatched me away and I was left looking at the bike on the work stand in the kitchen whilst I 'connected' on LinkedIn.

I am ashamed to say I snapped. I took the bike outside, strapped it to my wonderful Thule rear carrier and drive it 1/4 mile to Pendle Cycles. The responsibility to make it complete was now theirs not mine. I felt ashamed and relieved in equal measure.

I returned to Pendle Cycles today to pick the bike up. It looks lovely. It just looks slightly less lovely than if I had fastened it all together myself. The pleasant bow in the SKS mudguard stays are the result of someone else's patience.

The complete bike is pictured below. I am taking it on its inaugural ride tomorrow. You will hear about it in due course.