Yesterday was my worst bike day - ever. The only day that might have been worse was getting a saddle sore in the middle of a week-long ride in Lancaster County.
Yesterday started off with a flat 0.3 miles from the start - going over railroad tracks. So, 15 minutes lost while I walked back to the car, because I have a floor pump there. Another 15 minutes to get out the patch kit and change the tube. That part was probably a good thing, because I found that the tube was filled with Slime (I bought the bike used 2 years ago). So, the rear tire is now a LOT lighter after getting rid of the Slime-filled tube. Then, I had a LOT of problems getting the wheel back on the bike, but, after another 5 minutes, I got it on. So, after losing a 1/2 hour, I was back on the trail.
After a few minutes, I realized that I had lost the use of about 1/2 of my gears. Instead of moving across each cog, the rear deraileur only moved on every other cog...But, after the trouble I had getting the wheel back on, I wasn't going to stop and play with it again.
So, after 25 miles of mostly unpaved loose gravel, and only having 1/2 of my gears, I had enough fun. So, I turned around and rode home. Total ride - 50.22 miles.
Put the bike on the rack (which is a trailer-hitch type), and headed home. Going up a hill on a narrow turning back road, I heard a HORRIBLE CRASH, and looked up to see my bike and my bike rack skidding down the road behind me, and the cars swerving to avoid hitting it. Stopped car, threw rack and bike into car, and went home.
Final damage: rear wheel has some problems, which I hope a good bike mechanic can fix. Dealing with the internals of bike wheels is outside of my comfort level.
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1 comment:
Except that is not funny, this is a script for SNL. Hope your next ride is much better and a lot more fun! You may want to consider giving that bike a trip to the bike shop soon.
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