[nor_cal_rider]

Time to vent a bit....

Went out for a ride to clear my head, and decided I was just pissed enough at work & wife that I was going to squeeze in one of my 17 mile loops at "TT pace". Was pushing hard on the last 2 mile section of climbing, and came out of my saddle to maintain speed on the 11% grade. Then *BANG* my foot goes to the bottom of the pedal stroke with no resistance. Get the bike stopped and see the chain dragging, and think, geez, I didn't shift - why did I drop my chain? Upon closer inspection, I see the chain is actually broken and completely off the RD. Looking at the chain, it looks like I sheared one of the pins at the quicklink (provided by TREK as OE on my DA equipped Madone). Then up walks Mr. Murphy and his book of Laws, as I hear the telltale hissing sound of a punctured tube. Appears as if the chain caught the tire when it snapped, slashing my NEW (less than 150 miles) Conti 4000.

So on a cruddy day at work/home, I went out for a ride and ended up pushing my bike home the last 1.5 miles uphill in 105* heat, while 5 cars drove by and the drivers looked/laughed at the guy in reverse high heels and lycra/spandex walking along with his helmet hanging from the brifter and some guy named "Murphy" at his side.

:mad2:

 

[Allez Rouge]

Definitely sucks, but from the Dept of Looking On The Bright Side ... under those pedaling conditions, it's amazing you didn't go down and possibly hurt yourself and/or damage the bike. About a year ago I had a chain break as I was leaving a stop sign, not pedaling all that hard on flat ground and moving maybe five MPH, yet I was on the floor as quickly as if I'd touched wheels with another bike.

Small (if any) comfort, I know, but just saying ...

 

[asciibaron]

i had three flats on one ride on the hottest day of the year so far. the first was a snake bite, the other two were me ripping the stems off the tubes as i inflated the tires. i was 4 miles from home and had ridden 21. a nice lady gave me a tube which i inflated just enough to see me home.

i was ready to throw the bike in the trash.

 

[rwarren]

I've taken a few years off from riding and recently started back up again, so my experience in this situation is nearly non-existent. However, coming from my life experience, it's times like these where you just have to stop and laugh a little. Be thankful that the chain didn't break on the downhill when you were hammering home and nothing incredibly terrible happened. Chains are easy to replace -- bones aren't!

 

[Mr. Versatile]

I feel your pain bro. Some days are like that. Sometimes you get the bear. Sometimes the bear gets you. Like everything this will pass and you'll have bragging rights and be laughing about the whole situation.,

 

[Lelandjt]

Meh, tomorrow will probably be a better day. I hate it when a day goes to **** but figure I've still got several thousand more of them.

 

[Tommy Walker]

I guess calling the wife was out of the question.

 

[nor_cal_rider]

Definetly could have been a worse day...all days are good ones, just some leave a bad taste in your mouth. And - per the LBS, I do have bragging rights - nothing compares to being able to say I generated enough power to snap a chain.

Also to Tommy Walker - no way I could have called her....poor reception out by the house means I tend to leave the cell phone at home. Plus - no guarantees she'd even come get me...

On a positive note, the LBS is covering the chain and tire/tube as a warranty issue, and I got in a ride on my new 29-er that wasn't planned, since my Madone was down for repair.

 

[Lelandjt]

MTB ride over a road ride = a good day

 

[BikeRider]

Last year I was going to do an overnight ride to the start of a club ride. On the 1st day's ride when I was 9 miles from the town I was going to stay overnight my chain broke. I had to walk & coast the 9 miles into town. This is when I was glad the destination was at a lower elevation that I was at. I was able to coast a good bit of it and didn't have to walk all that much. Even coasting at 5mph is still faster than walking...

 

[LMWEL]

Ouch, That's a rough day . I had a similar experience to asciibaron, I had three flats about half way through a metric century . The first a pinch flat, the second not sure, the third a failed patch on the second . Needless to say I didn't finish . Bright side ? Two new tires .

 

[mtrider05]

It seems a bad day snowballs into a really bad day most of the time. At least your LBS is hooking you up.

 

[nor_cal_rider]

Ouch, That's a rough day . I had a similar experience to asciibaron, I had three flats about half way through a metric century . The first a pinch flat, the second not sure, the third a failed patch on the second . Needless to say I didn't finish . Bright side ? Two new tires .

I've had those "multiple flat" days too....worst one took out 3 tubes and the tire within 2 miles...another day I pushed a bike home...but that time was closer to 5 miles.

Sometimes things just pile up and appear to be a bigger deal than they really are...just take a bit of time to reflect on it and realize could have been worse, and it happened doing what I love.

 

[estone2]

MTB ride over a road ride = a good day

back to MTBR, were weirdos like you belong!ut: :yikes:

 

[bike_guy]

Could have been worse, you're chain mishap could have happened during a major race. Hopefully that's a situation we never have to endure.

 

[Kuma601]

Days like that suck...we all have them. The next ride will be.

 

[terkonekto]

I hear you too

Had plenty of bad days on the bike but some have turned good because I have had nice people stop and offer help. One time I flatted twice on the road and had no choice but to walk the rest of the way home (2 or 3 miles out). Along comes a van with two tri-athletes that stop and offer me a ride. If I was you I would tell the story as you where pedaling so hard and putting in so much effort you busted the chain. Hope your rides are all good from now on. :thumbsup:

 

[Elfstone]

I've not done the chain snap, but have had my days of multiple flats. Either one puts a damper on a good ride. Glad your okay and your LBS sounds top notch.

Peace

 

[Mr. Versatile]

I've ridden with Murphy several times before. The guy is definitely no fun. In fact he's a pain in the ass. I've vowed to never ride with him again. I'll get back to you and let you know how that's working out for me.

 

[nor_cal_rider]

I guess I needed 1 more ride with him....I went out for a light spin to get ready for tomorrows Mt Shasta Summit Century, and everything is working well. Then I get to the last set of hills, and drop to the small chain ring, when I drop the chain completely. No big deal, happened before, but as I look at the chain, I see it has caught the metal plate TREK applied to protect the CF frame should this type of thing happen. The plate is completely bent over and pulled away from the frame. 10 minutes of messing with it, and I'm back on the road. At this point I'm wondering if fate isn't trying to tell me something - ie skip this weekends ride.

Quick trip to the LBS and 1 hour later I'm loading my bike up again and heading home to pack up my gear for tomorrows ride.

Hopefully I'll be able to leave Murphy at home this time...I saw a really messed up Litespeed at the LBS that was a result of going down on one of the descents I'll be on tomorrow.