Chris at Trek is my hero! The culmination of our working-class spring break was an attempt at the Virginia Capitol Trail, which stretches 52 miles from Richmond to historic Jamestown. For the first few days we stayed in inexpensive hotels by night, and rode our bikes on rail trails by day: 23 miles on the Old Dominion, 25 on the Highbridge Trail, 21 toodling around Richmond and scouting as far as Varina. On day four we jettisoned the car in Varina and set out for Jamestown. We got most of the way there before the first spoke on our freebie tandem gave out. I field-trued it, warning my girlfriend & 11-year-old son that we might lose more before the trip was over. If we did, we were dead in the water; so we had to get the spoke replaced in Williamsburg. Sure enough, as we pulled into downtown Williamsburg more started to go. We contemplated walking to the hotel, but I let out the brake and took it slow, as we wobbled across town. Carless and without the tandem, I strapped the failing wheel to the back of my girlfriend's rented e-bike and struck out for the nearest bike shop. Conte's was willing to consider the (admittedly last-minute, emergency) job, but they eventually failed, and tried to sell me a $250 wheel, instead. The next (and only remaining) shop was Trek. As I spoke to Chris from his competitors showroom, I took heart. Chris wasn't sure he could do a full rebuild in so little time, but he was willing to try. He even contemplated loaning us one of his wheels, from home, to get us back to Richmond and buy us time. What a guy! In the end, he fixed our wheel, and we were back on the road in time to finish the ride and return the rented e-bike. Daily spring break mileage: 23-25-21-58-49 (not counting e-bike runs to & fro with the wheel). My experience at Conte's was weird, and I honestly don't know if they were trying to help me, get rid of me, or flim-flam me. What I can say about Trek, is that when they had me completely over a barrel, they bent over backwards to help out, and then they sent me off with parts and labor at a drastic discount in recognition of the fact that I was in a bind. I appreciate that empathy, generosity, and comradeship so much! If I were buying a bike or exploring repairs I would go to these guys, because they are good people, and also... because what they are willing to do practically for free is probably a fantastic indicator of the level of service they will deliver to their paying customers. Thank you, Chris!