Bike breaking ride

I suppose I should just be glad this happened before next weekend's 600k ride and not during it. The catalogue of things I've been forced to replace and/or repair on my bike this year is becoming quite extensive. I suppose the bright side of all this is that I've developed some new skills in repairs and/or simply coping with various problems.

This morning I headed for Springbrook, a ride that was something of a compromise. My legs wanted big km, but I'm supposed to be resting before the 600k, so I decided on a short ride which just happens to climb a mountain. Early on everything seemed to be OK. I handled the climb comfortably, and Springbrook turned on yet another glorious day, even if a little chilly. This place is known for it's waterfalls, but they weren't really at their spectacular best in the middle of the dry season. Cue a display of little-known wildflowers providing a burst of colour. After 11 years, I'm wondering if there is any thing that mountain can't do.





Even the local wildlife came out to greet me...



... even if I wasn't quite fast enough to take a picture of that Albert Lyrebird (note: the only known habitat of this species in the entire world is the Gold Coast Hinterland).

It was at the start of the ride home that the problems started. I noted the gearing at the rear wasn't shifting as it should. I made an adjustment to the rear derailleur, noting that I may have to replace a gear cable in the near future. Somewhere while descending a 7% gradient I heard a crack from my rear rack. It turns out the light mount I'd made for the rack had broken off (note: it wasn't my handywork that broke -- the bolt and the connection I had made was still intact, it was the metal itself that snapped). Incidentally, that was the rack I'd bought in Dunedin, after 600km of carrying a full touring load on another rack that I'd broken some days previously.

I salvaged what I could of the light, which may prevent me having to buy a replacement if I can assemble something from my garage. Further down the mountain the gear cable gave out completely. I was down to just two gears for the last 30km or so to get home. Granted, home was at a lower altitude, but there were still some nasty pinches around Mudgeeraba, not to mention the sea breeze from the coast to deal with. I now have a new found respect for people who ride singlespeed bikes.

As predicted, some of the hills around Mudgeeraba caused more difficulty than they normally would -- and it just had to be show day with the resultant traffic issues on a day when maintaining momentum was of unusual importance. However, in a grim kind of way, I was starting to enjoy the chase, the challenge of it all, and knowing that this ride had now transcended the usual "up and back" ride to Springbrook. I was actually a little disappointed to get back on the coast and out of the hills. Cruising along the flat, while easier, just didn't have the same interest -- even if a couple of red lights did provide some unexpected difficulty.

It's clear that I need to deal with this rack. It's been a problem since I bought it, and it just doesn't seem to be strong enough to cope with my demands. For the time being I think I'll swap the rack on my MTB over and use that. It seems to be a little more sturdy. This also means that I need to create a new mount for a tail light on the rack so I can continue to run two of them (the other attaches to a special hole cut into my saddlebag), but such is life. Maybe I'll start to look upon all these repairs as a grim kind of chase.

Finally (at last I hear you cry), it appears as though I've been tagged again. This time Allez is responsible. I'll deal with it tomorrow. Right now I need some sleep.