End of a Bike
by Malcolm McAuley

Well I started the marathon series with a new perspective. I decided to ride my commuter style bike for the 200, and was looking for at least a last place finish, but Kevin got in the way. ..... I had planned to try the Kona on the 200 with a last place finish but there was someone trying harder , .... at the McCarthy control I realized that I might have some competition ......... when I got home from the 200 I discovered that Teresa had put rocks in my panniers in order to insure that we got last place ,..... but no amount of sandbagging could deter Kevin from winning last place, .... well done Kevin .

When I got the Kona home..... it said to me that we were not to be foiled by this , so me and the Kona went on to do the 300 and prove that last place was possible .

The 300 was strange at the beginning , I saw the impossible, so I loaded up with food and rain gear and 3 spare tubes and patch kit,.... I knew I would not be able to borrow any bike gear and headed out with 20 hours or more in mind , but I knew I would make it home sometime ,,,, as the Kona has done thousands of kilometers in the middle of nowhere. Seeing dawn was a possible part of my trip, I had prepared with extra clothes and in the end I did bring extra food home.

Well ,, good old bike ... so reliable , pulled me through the monsoon rain and got a time of 17 hours, ... I was in disbelief , still am ... I sat in my apartment looking at the kona and praising one of the best builds I have done.

The next week I stripped down the the Kona,,, put on my big 2.1 knobby kevlar tyres ,no fenders or racks..no bike stand, .. no bags, and took the gay and lesbian cycle club up the Grouse fireroad to see the snowwalls...... and it was a great fun successful trip to the top and back down.

Coming back across the Lions Gate,from the Grouse Ride, the chain on the Kona broke.... first time chain break for me , ... so I walked home coasting down the hills and using one foot scooter push to get home to Davie and Denman .... oddly I learned to ride a bicycle by scooter pushing ,,,,, in 1963 suburbian Montreal on a bicycle until I could find the correct balance.

The old man Kona,,,, ... has done its life with two or three great last achievements to its history , the 200 followed by the 300 and a mudy hill climb to 1400 meters, ....... The kona will be retired as a great old commuter bike.

well done "kona smoke with mods" it was a great four years

...malcolm

May 9, 2009