Upcoming This Week: How I Am Going to Share Stories From Our Busiest Week.

Walmart has Black Friday, florists have Valentine's Day, firework stores have the Fourth of July, and if you work in a bike store in Lake Placid, NY, you have Ironman week. During this week at the end of July, approximately 2,500 triathletes and their families infiltrate and overrun the town. During this annual mass migration, the triathletes bring with them both an unmistakable, unique aura, and lots of tri-bikes.

As a bike mechanic, I have a love/hate relationship with the week. On one hand, it means lots of business and high-end bikes to work on. While at the same time, it also comes with lots of last-minute repairs with very stressed customers.

Last year, I took on the most amount of responsibility that I have ever had during this week, and with that came some stress. Most everything went well; we changed countless tires, tuned tons of bikes, and don't even mention the chain waxing. However, we did face some challenges: some broken derailleur hangers, gluing tubular tires, and even splicing together a severed Di2 cable right before the race.

There were many ups and downs over the course of the week, and it was filled with lots of stories; this is my inspiration for what I am going to write about this week. Whether it is an unusual set of events, an interesting character that comes through the store, or just how I am dealing with the stress that comes along this week, I am going to write a story each day and publish it here. Over the course of this week, I hope to expand the ways that I tell stories, with the desired outcome being engaging stories with no two days being the same. So, please stay tuned for an intimate, behind-the-scenes peek into our shop during the busiest week of the year.