Catastrophic double nipple failure (DNF) in Alabama

Hello all,

Everything was going hunky dory for the Cross clan over here in U.A. (Upper Alabama) until last Sunday when I suffered a severe case of double nipple failure (DNF). It came out of the blue while descending a hill at 39 MPH in the middle of the "A" group of the 1st (that is inaugural, G) Tour de Cahaba in Birmingham. I thought for a moment that I was going down. Somehow I managed to keep it upright with 2 failed nipples. My UA guardian angel was working overtime early Sunday. Here are the intimate nipple details:

The good folks at Cahaba Cycles www.cahabacycles.com decided to celebrate their 25th Anniversary in the bicycle business by hosting a free ride Sunday July 27, 2008. Cahaba Cycles is owned by Kal and Barbara Malki and their son Faris. Kal works at their Cahaba Heights store (est. 1982) located in a newly occupied building (March, 2008) just down the hill from our corporate apartment at the Cameron at the Summit Apartment Homes. He graciously invited me to join them on the ride when I stopped in to look at their kid's bikes with my son, Thomas (7 3/4). The ride started at 7:00 AM (CST) from Homewood Cycle & Fitness located in Homewood about 6 miles north of the Summit. I rode to the ride and arrived about 2 minutes before the "A" group rolled out. Kal told me earlier that he expected about 100 riders total to show up. Apparently the combination of "free" event and "door prizes to be given away" got a lot of cyclists' attention. The crowd for the A and B rides alone was easily 200+. The C family ride/shorter route which started at 10: AM and went 25 miles instead of 66 miles probably attracted another 50 riders. I didn't see anyone I knew but did see a dude sporting a Gran Fondo Fixies jersey astride a fixed gear bike (breed unknown). I said hi to him before we started. His name was Steve Phillips and he obviously was an out of the closet "Gran Fondo Fixies" fan www.granfondocycles.com/fixies . I also met Tom Robertshaw later that week at Cahaba Cycles. Tom is the ride organizer for the Heart of the South ride and he said to say hi to Jeff, Kevin, Greg M., Pete & Wendy, etc. and everyone else back in GA and or TN.

The A group numbering probably 75 rolled out promptly at 7:00 AM from the back parking lot of Homewood Cycle & Fitness. Homewood is a cool in town community centrally located about a mile south of downtown and just west of Mountain Brook, Birmingham's Buckhead/West Paces Ferry residential area. We were heading due south towards Pelham, a bedroom community about 10-12 miles away. The first 2 or 3 miles were flat and then we turned right and started climbing. It didn't take me long to start wondering why I thought I could hang with the A group in a foreign land. I was dangling off the back and hanging on only with the help of a few strategically placed stop lights that happened to stay red long enough to stop the group and allow me to catch back on. Finally, we crested a big hill and began a long fast descent. As we were descending, my front wheel started wobbling. I initially thought I had a front flat tire (clincher) and began to worry since I was moving quickly and more or less in the middle of the A group. I waited for my tire to go flat but it never did. Instead the rim was rubbing my brakes rather dramatically. I managed to stop and discover that the nipples on two spokes had broken at the flange that holds the nipple to the rim. I had not hit any potholes or bumps just prior to this moment. This was a simple case of metallurgical failure likely due to metal fatigue. I was riding on conventional 32 spoke Wheelsmith wheels w/ Mavic SUP rims that came with my Serotta CSI purchased only 13 years ago from the Bicycle Link in Buckhead during the Alan W., Dave H., Dennis H. and beautiful Sara era.

Anyway, I got out my old iPhone, looked up Cahaba Cycles on the web (there was not a phone # listed on the cue sheet) and called Homewood. Barbara Malki answered and dispatched the sag wagon to come rescue me. I told her all I needed was a couple of new spoke nipples. She wasn't sure if the sag wagon carried nipples, but if he didn't he could pick me up and take me to the first rest stop which was at the Pelham store. Meanwhile the B group, all 125 strong passed by in waves. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHbAAAMW7yU

Sure enough a few minutes later the official Cahaba cycles sag wagon arrived. Chris Leven, sag driver and Trussville Store Manager, put my bike on the roof rack and off we went headed to Pelham. Once at Pelham I whisked my bike into the store and Grant Thomason, Pelham Service Manager, replaced the affected spokes, trued the wheel and got me back on the road. By this time both the A group and main B group had headed up the road. I was content to ride more or less by myself the rest of the way, occasionally catching other riders or one of the two tandems on the ride. The next rest stop was the Cahaba Heights store located 1/4 mile uphill from our apt. The proximity to our Birmingham home was too overwhelming and I soon found myself filling my bottles with ice from the frig, mixing up a fresh bottle with Cytomax and checking in with Thomas on the final stage of the TdF. I didn't linger however and quickly got back on course. The leg from Cahaba Heights to Trussville was the most scenic and most difficult part of the ride. We weaved our way through Mountain Brook and then got on Old Leeds Road, a straight road which heads northeast away from Birmingham along the top of a long ridge. The overcast sky which we had enjoyed all morning slowly disappeared as the sun broke through and it turned hot. I was glad I was alone and could just ride at my own pace; stopping to watch a hawk perched on a fence just outside of Trussville. I missed the last turn to the store and rode a few blocks through town before turning around. It wasn't too hard to find the shop. By the time I got there, all the other riders had left. Parker Agricola, Service Manager, and his associate Jeremy waited on me while I filled my bottles. We rode back to Homewood together which was much appreciated after a long day off the back. I didn't have to navigate in a strange land and there were wheels to draft. Parker was on a new Trek Madone with Campy Chorus which was a nice combination. Jeremy was on a single speed with a 39/16 gear. It was also Jeremy's first group ride ever. We had a nice tailwind on Hwy 78 which traverses a similar ridge back into B'ham. We passed the Irondale Café, inspiration for the Whistle-Stop Café in the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes. We arrived at the Homewood store, our final stop just as the last door prizes were being handed out.

Thanks to Kal, Barbara, Faris, Chris, Grant, Parker, Jeremy and the rest of the Cahaba Cycles gang for a fun and interesting day on the bike in Birmingham. Although I missed your first 25 years in business I was happy to help you celebrate a quarter century serving the cycling community here in Birmingham. I hope we make it over here from Atlanta to ride with you again soon.

Tom Cross

"It's not where or when you arrive---it's taking the journey that counts."