Went on a nice 60 mile ride throught the Berkshire Mountains of CT and MASS yesterday (well, it was suppose to be) with a group from the local bike club. Had a great first 25 miles, averaging about 17-18 mph, then at the top of a nice 2.5 miles descent I shifted onto the top ring, but lost the chain. So I hopped off, got the chain back on, but as I took off again, something was VERY wrong. Turns out one of the links bent. It was like the bike was possesed and it stuck and jerked every few strokes. Killed my legs after a while, so I bailed out and headed back, ended up with only 45 miles and a LOT of cursing.
But the story is, that at the rest stop a bunch of guys, who've been riding for ages, took a look at my chain and decided that if they took that link off, that I'd be good to go. So out came the tools. After a few minutes, it became clear that none of them had ever done this before. Well, they made a good try of it, but couldn't get the chain tool centered. After a few minutes I realized that if they did actually get this link out, the chances of them getting it out and back together, as sweet as they all were, were low. SO I decided that riding back was better than walking.
So now I've had my first mechanical! I think I'll be learning how to fix my bike this winter. That was ridiculous. And my average speed ended up being 15! Not what I went out for.
Any good books out there to recommend?
But the story is, that at the rest stop a bunch of guys, who've been riding for ages, took a look at my chain and decided that if they took that link off, that I'd be good to go. So out came the tools. After a few minutes, it became clear that none of them had ever done this before. Well, they made a good try of it, but couldn't get the chain tool centered. After a few minutes I realized that if they did actually get this link out, the chances of them getting it out and back together, as sweet as they all were, were low. SO I decided that riding back was better than walking.
So now I've had my first mechanical! I think I'll be learning how to fix my bike this winter. That was ridiculous. And my average speed ended up being 15! Not what I went out for.
Any good books out there to recommend?