Adversity was my companion on today’s abbreviated ride. I was biking along thinking about how two months ago I was trying to stay cool in the 100+ degree weather and today it was about 30 degrees cooler. Then I heard a snap at the 7.6 mile point and my pedals went freewheeling and I slowed instantly to almost not moving. It was an effort to get out of my pedals before the bike stopped since I was going up a slight incline. The chain had broken. With about 5,000 miles on it I guess I got my money’s worth. I had planned on replacing it awhile back but kept putting it off.

Broken chain

The walk back home was about 5 miles with a shorter route than what I had taken to get to this point. I started walking and then it dawned on me to ride my bike as a coaster. This was great as long as the sidewalk was flat to downhill. That didn’t last long so I thought why not use the skateboard technique and push the bike along with my right foot. This was definitely faster than walking but it took a lot of effort I am not used to. It took me about an hour and 5 minutes to get back home using this method. I would have called my wife but she was working longer hours today and I figured I would be home by the time she got off work and could drive to where I was.

Back home I had a brand new SRAM PC1071 chain but this was like the umbrella being in the car and it is raining and I am in the building. Once I did make it back home I plugged in the Fry Baby and melted the paraffin wax to lubricate the PC1071 chain. After it cooled down I installed on the Motobecane Le Champion CF and tomorrow I will be back on the road. One thing I do not like about the PC1071 is the PowerLock quick link is a one time use and I have to use a chain tool to get it off. I prefer the Whipperman connector which is reusable. Fortunately I have some extra PowerLock links when the time comes to wax the chain again.

This was a shame since the weather was picture perfect today with clear blue sky, 77 to 80 degree temperature, very low humidity (23%) and no wind. This week with the cooler temperatures in the morning I have been starting later but so far my mileage this week has been rather low at 50.43. It is supposed to be warmer overnight so maybe tomorrow I can start earlier and ride longer.

10-20-2011 Bike Ride Data and Route Map

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