Surprise! A new custom bike paint job

I'd like to give a great big thank you to Karel for designing the perfect paint job on my Trek bike.

This is the same bike that I received soon after I finished the 2013 Ironman World Championship.

 

With this bike, I've made some incredible memories in some pretty cool places, like St. Croix, Austria, Wisconsin, Knoxville and in Kona.

This bike fits me perfectly thanks to Karel knowing my measurements when finding me the right size bike for my 5-foot frame so that I can still ride 700 cc wheels. Plus, I'm lucky that I have Karel to keep dialing in my fit. I also couldn't imagine riding a bike without electronic shifting -what a game changer in cycling technology!

I was always happy with the design of my Trek but after two years of traveling with my bike, the white paint had some chipping and Karel thought it was time to get it painted.

But instead of a touch-up, Karel told me that he wanted to give me a custom paint job on my Trek.

To my choice, I had no say in the new paint design. This was all Karel as he knows what I like (plus, I trust him enough to know that he wouldn't give me a bad design). I knew nothing about what my bike would look like.
All I knew was that I would be without a tri bike from the day we came home from Kona in October until sometime late December. 

I have to admit, I have really enjoyed riding my road bike over the past two months. My skills have improved and with every workout (outside and trainer), I can work on my pedal stroke due to my position on the road bike (versus being aero on the tri bike).
I'll still ride my road bike here and there but it's time to create good muscle memory and now I have even more reason to get on my beautiful tri bike. 

My tri bike is back home and even though she looks too good to ride, it's time to put more miles on this one-of-a-kind, Trimarni Trek bike, designed by Karel. 

A pink bike requires a pink chain!

Although Karel designed the bike, he was not the main person behind the scenes of this surprise.
Jack Kane painted my bike and did an amazing job.
Karel found Jack on the internet (and word of mouth).

Even though I was not part of this surprise, Karel would keep me updated on the progress as Jack was constantly communicating with Karel on how things were going with the paint job. We appreciated the communication.

Karel even sent Jack a Trimarni tri top with my bike frame so that the pink matched perfectly to our kits.
After Karel emailed Jack to see if a custom paint job was possible on my bike, all Karel had to do was ship the bike frame (he used Bike Flights) to Jack and then pay for the paint job (and shipping) when it was ready.

If you have been considering a custom paint job on your bike, we highly recommend using Jack Kane. 

Here are a few more pics from inside Karel's bike shop.
A few days after we received the frame in the box, Karel started building my bike. So that I wouldn't see the bike, he put a post-it note on the garage door (reading "Santa's workshop") letting me know that he was building my bike and I was not allowed to enter.