The first real breakdown
May. 23rd, 2007 09:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegkerrIt was a lovely day to bike, sixty seven degrees F. I got the bike loaded up, a few minutes later than I would have liked, and headed out. About a half mile from home, I stopped for a stop light. When the light turned green, I shifted gears to get moving faster, only to hear an ominous clatter. I tried shifting again, and the pedals froze. Oh, no.
I pulled off to the side of the road, got off, and took a look. As I'd feared the chain had jumped off the sprockets. I tried to muscle it back on and immediately got myself covered with grease, with little to show for it.
A kind passerby stopped to give me a hand, telling me that he used to work at a bike shop. He helped me thread the chain back on the sprocket, but we were still unable to get the pedals to turn. "I'm afraid you might have a busted derailler," he said.
So I called Rob (yay for unemployed husbands who are at home in the morning and can come rescue their stranded wives), who brought the Jeep, a bottle of Go-Jo, and a roll of paper towels. I cleaned off the grease and we threw the bike in the back. He drove me to work and will drop the bike off at the bike shop today.
If the derailler has to be replaced, how much can I expect it to cost? Alas, I fear I will lose all my money savings from bicycling for the month, or maybe more.
Note to self: put some latex gloves in the bag for similar emergencies.
Mood: rueful
I pulled off to the side of the road, got off, and took a look. As I'd feared the chain had jumped off the sprockets. I tried to muscle it back on and immediately got myself covered with grease, with little to show for it.
A kind passerby stopped to give me a hand, telling me that he used to work at a bike shop. He helped me thread the chain back on the sprocket, but we were still unable to get the pedals to turn. "I'm afraid you might have a busted derailler," he said.
So I called Rob (yay for unemployed husbands who are at home in the morning and can come rescue their stranded wives), who brought the Jeep, a bottle of Go-Jo, and a roll of paper towels. I cleaned off the grease and we threw the bike in the back. He drove me to work and will drop the bike off at the bike shop today.
If the derailler has to be replaced, how much can I expect it to cost? Alas, I fear I will lose all my money savings from bicycling for the month, or maybe more.
Note to self: put some latex gloves in the bag for similar emergencies.
Mood: rueful