Chained

What is it about big rides and chain problems right now? When I headed to Hobart for the ASH Dash last month, I had a rear derailleur fall to pieces. Not such a surprise, except that for some reason the shop to which I took the repair found a reason to pull my chain apart in the process. This wasn't so bad until Saturday Night's 300k, when the chain problems surfaced again. I was able to get through the final stages of that ride (although I had a chain tool with me if needed), and limp through two commutes earlier this week, but now I'm basically riding this chain with one link removed, and basically putting as much wear as I can on it before replacing it at the end of the week.

I just hope some of my other big rides (starting with a tour on the weekend of January 26) don't end up like that.

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In other news, I'm about ready to remove the music selections from the right of this page. These days I don't really buy enough CD's to keep it updated as often as I should, and if the truth be told I'm growing increasingly disillusioned with the music scene generally. While everyone would have you believe that everyone is doing something of real quality and depth, most of it is just shallow rubbish. Even the few artists/bands who are doing something decent struggle to get any air play. Gersey have been one of the best (in fact, probably THE best) bands in the country for around seven years now, yet very few people will have heard of them.

For the record, the last CD I bought of any interest was from an alternative band Dappled Cities Fly. Most of the tracks on that have a good sound, and they're not afraid to move around a little bit -- basically the antithesis of most of the mass-produced crap that seems so popular right at the moment.