It all began as a fairly standard Wednesday as I arrived home eagerly anticipating my afternoon ride.  My day was shaken however as I discovered my back door ajar.  As I proceeded further into my apartment I began to realize that I had been robbed.  A quick scan of the kitchen, dining room, living room and bedroom revealed nothing.  No broken items, no signs of rummaging, nothing.  I immediately made my way to my studio to find that my computers remained along with various other items of relative value.  And then panic struck.  As quickly as the thiefs had gained access I spun around only to find that my most prized possession, the one thing I had hoped would have been spared was missing; my Trek Madone.  Sure enough as if I had just completed a TT my heart was racing and I began scrambling about looking for the bike.  Had I misplaced it, was it at the shop, maybe it was still on my roof rack... alas it was not to be; my bike was stolen.

Over the next few days countless hours were spent on the horn with the insurance company, claims adjusters, police, and parts vendors after all this was no stock steed.  The first stop was to our team shop; Trek Bikes on Michigan Avenue to report the sad news.  Apparently in this town news travels fast as upon my arrival Joanne, the owner was waiting ready to assist.  It was a matter of seconds before a call was made to Trek Corporate in Waterloo, WI. and for Mark to pull a bike from the production line and set aside for me.  Just like that, in a matter of minutes Trek Bikes on Michigan Ave and Trek had procured for me a new bike.  Next stop; Saris and CycleOps.  I shot an e-mail to Robb our contact at Saris and again in minutes he had walked over to the factory in Wisconsin and pulled a wheelset from stock and had it on the loading dock.  Less than 24 hours later FedEx delivered my wheels!  I have trouble driving to Madison, WI. in 24 hours let alone having a wheelset shipped from there to Chicago!.  The next S.O.S. went out to Ed at hometown SRAM.  Again it wasn't an issue at all and later that day (I know, crazy right!) the parts I required were delivered to the shop.  

Now at this point it was the eve of the 4th of July weekend.  The Taste of Chicago was in full swing and the entire City was scrambling to get their bikes in working order.  Surely it was going to be a bit of a wait before the guys and gals at Trek Bikes on Michigan Ave would be able to tend to my bike.  As soon as the bike arrived the amazing mechanics at the shop spent the entire morning building up the bike to my (perhaps a bit neurotic) specifications.  And just like that my bike with all its custom configurations was replaced and waiting on the showroom floor for my arrival.

This is where the thanks come in.  Perhaps most importantly to my lovely girlfriend for twisting my arm until I mailed the renter's insurance check just 3 weeks before the break-in.  The entire staff at Trek Bikes on Michigan Avenue deserves a huge thank-you, for not only tolerating my constant poking and prodding, nagging and whining, but for pulling out all the stops and seeing to it that my bike was replaced and built up as quickly as possible with as much care that a supermodel bike deserves.  Mark at Trek raised the bar for customer service by personally seeing to it that my bike was replaced.  Say what you will about a large company but never forget that people work at large companies and when these people are share your passion, you're in the best of hands.  Were it not for Robb and Saris I might have been able to skip a workout or two (read; allowed myself to sit on my duff and moping) due to lack of PowerTap.  That it came so quickly truly is a testament to Saris' commitment to the every rider and their pursuits.  And of course to Ed and SRAM who somehow managed to thwart the rules of physics and shipping and have my components delivered same-day.  I'd like to think that there was some hometown favoritism at play but have since learned this is simply the norm over at SRAM; they just don't mess around when a customer is in need.

In the end my bike was replaced due to the efforts of our team sponsors and the kind folks who work at the companies we're so proud to represent.  Trek Bicycles, SRAM, Trek Bikes on Michigan Ave, Saris and of course Melissa; thank you.  I'll be thinking of you ladies and gents every time I turn the pedals. 

-Julian