Broke Chain, Spliced Same

2/5/2014 #220 29m 24F

As a DC rider mentioned on Twitter, today was a great day for riding: cold but not too cold, lots of visibility and some blue sky, dry, a breeze but not windy.

Departed the Res for Moon Township. Just living the dream. I had a moment of physical clarity where I felt at one with the bike, my pedal stroke was smooth and strong, the pedaling seemed effortless.

That's when I noticed that I'd busted the chain off the bike on the crest of the last hill.

I had the tools to fix it, and there was enough left to splice together. It wasn't a bad time for it to happen, really. Just a bit cold on the fingers. Anyway, while working the chain it struck me this blog post would be the perfect time to finally get to riff on every sailor's dream log entry, "Sighted Sub, Sank Same".

Continued on my way, but I'd be 1/2 hour late for a Starbucks assignation. Had some Youthberry Tea, which is available now that Starbucks has assimilated TeaVana.

Departed Moon and crossed the Ohio River at the Sewickley Bridge, and rode to the world's best ABS, the Ambridge Bike Shop. Bought another chain, and I think that from now on I am going to strive to keep a new chain in the tool kit.

Departed via the newly opened Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge, pedaling home in twilight. The spliced chain was doing very well, until I was about a mile from the Res in the dark, when it became ensnared in the crank-arm, which is kind of hard to do.

Far from being a goat-rope, this was a tremendous ride. The mechanical challenges and the low temps were mitigated by having the right equipment for both. 29 miles.