mari-musing: What a glorious day for a bike ride in the Western Australian countryside! CycloSportif
mari-musing: What a glorious day for a bike ride in the Western Australian countryside! CycloSportif York got off to wonderful start for our ‘Little Ride From Youth’ team of two. We were spinning along, relaxed and enjoying the scenery, cruising past other groups in our category. I was happy with our 25.2kph average speed too. We’d crested the first of the three big hills and I was already part way up the second one (I always go to the drops and fly down as I’m so weak going up) when I heard a dreadful grating noise behind me. clubathletica had dropped her chain. I continued to the top (not so strong on steep hill starts so didn’t want to stop) and assumed she’d fix it and follow. Waiting waiting waiting. A group stopped to fix a puncture. Took a panorama photo. More waiting. Texted. Waved over a motorcycle marshal and sent him down the hill. More waiting. Walked part way downhill to see what I could see (and down went the average speed - oops should have stopped the Garmin). By this stage it was obvious that it was more than just a dropped chain so I coasted down the hill. Her chain had fallen off the back cluster and wedged itself between a spoke and the cassette. The moto-first aid guy had joined us by this stage. Screw drivers, pliers, nothing would budge it. Nothing for it but to call the bike valet truck. We were 32km into a 54km ride and I wondered whether to ride on and finish alone. But it wouldn’t do to leave my young daughter in a truck with two men I didn’t know so we both piled in. My first ever DNF. The guys were very nice of course and I suppose it made a change travelling in a truck! At the finish line we gave the bike to the mechanic but he could shift it either. The whole thing will have to be pulled apart. Never mind, she needs a new bottom bracket installed anyway so our resident mechanic can do it all at once. On the bright side, lunch at the York Town Hall was great and we BOTH won a raffle prize - customised name and nation stickers for our bikes. Oh we will look pro. -- source link