I built a bike (sort of)

Well its been a few months since that cx Dolan Frame arrived. A typical Dolan Frame, black with white transfers. Oh but being a girl I had another colour in mind. Green with white forks!!!(no bloody pink!)

I sent it for a paint and whilst waiting for it to be returned I took redundancy and shopped online for parts.

The original plan was to buy used on eBay. Ooops :-/ well the wheels were used.

But the credit card was happy and soon it was time to put it together. So I learned how to build a bike in stages.

Stage 1: Have someone with you that knows what they are doing.
Seriously there are bits on a bike that look they belong in a car! And the parts have to point various ways and fit in various holes?????

Stage 2: Your going to eventually get your hands dirty and greasy.
I don't mind getting my hands dirty but I would prefer not to, and isn't greasing holes something that normally a man is better at???

Stage 3: Have someone who has the right tools
I really didn't want to have to buy torque wrench thingies, chain putter onners, wire cutters??

Stage 4: Patience, patience, patience
How many fucking Allen keys does it bloody take to put a bike together!!! You need plenty of patience just to find a key that fits the part! And then you have to tighten one side then the other then return to other side WTF??

Stage 5: Realize that your not done spending money yet
Something is bound to fail when building a bike and you are destined to have to purchase another part, or return something that isn't working. Keep your credit card handy and beg your local bike shop or Internet sight for discounts

Stage 6: Be very nice to the person helping you
Buy cake and make sure the kettle is always boiling. Don't piss off the help by whinging or refusing to grease bits!

Stage 7: Try not to squeal so much when its almost ready!
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
When can I ride??? Is it ready yet???? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE its so pretty!!!!!

Stage 8: Enjoy it!
I had so much fun building it! Now I get to ride it!!!

So for my first outing on the cx Hutty and I went for a blast around Keilder. Not a technical course at all but a beautiful 25 miles around the lake on a sunny cold winter day. And I got my first puncture too! The bikes not completely finished yet, a few tweaks required. But all in all its mine and my first build!

So this winter I will get muddy, learning to ride cx style!