Ride SATURDAY - Three Bears - 8:30am

[cindysue]

I was asked to organize a ride on Saturday, so here goes:

The Three Bears - Meet at Orinda BART at 8:24 am (that's when the train arrives).

This is a short loop (about 15 miles) with some nice hill climbing. We won't worry about the summer heat this early in the morning. In fact, bring layers just in case. Depending on the mood - we may throw in Pig Farm Hill just for kicks!

Hope to see you there!

PM me to RSVP or with questions!

[cindysue]

My sweet orbea suffered a severed derailleur and chain in Saturday's ride. The rider suffered a few bruises and a bloody scrape the size of an apricot to her right knee.

I'd been experiencing "ghost shifting" but dismissed it as "cable stretching" on the new bike and something I would fix "later." But on Saturday, my chain dropped three times in a row. Rather than stop and say "what's wrong with this picture?" I just keep putting the chain back on and ride. Well............ suddenly my bike locks up, I'm unable to clip out of both pedals, and down on the ground. Poor Miss Dulce De Luna lets out a yelp. I get up, look down and my derailleur has completely broke off and is stuck between my spokes. My bike can't even be rolled away and I'm on Bear Creek Road with no cell reception. Fortunately there is a farmhouse nearby and Jennie and I scoot over to see if someone can help. The nice gentlemen lets me use his phone so I can call the other rider and let her know I won't be finishing the ride. He is also so kind to give me and Miss Dulce a ride back to Walnut Creek.

I call my LBS (not so local) in Marin and head out there. After an hour of driving and an hour or two in the shop, Miss Dulce is back (or so I thought!). Turns out that the chain had severed and may have whipped around and severed the derailleur. All that was needed was replacing the chain and the derailleur hangar. I take Miss Dulce back to my place for a little R&R.

I get through Sunday's ride with no issues. Then pack up for a bike-camp trip with my friend. I'm about 10 or so miles into the ride when my chain drops again. Well - I am not going to continue to camp like this so I call the LBS which gives me a few instructions and I'm headed back to the shop. They fix me up (again!) and I'm off. No issues the rest of my trip (which was great by the way - we rode to S.P.Taylor Park and camped out for the night).

I'm fine - Miss Dulce De Luna has a few scratches and may need a new derailleur at some point but all seems fine at the moment.

I'll put her to the test again on Saturday when I pre-ride the 65 mile Bike Against the Odds route....

[SadieKate]

Cindy, sorry I didn't return your message. I was on the trails all weekend without reception most of the waking hours.

This sounds pretty weird. Did the shop tell you the cause of the problem?

[slinkedog]

Cindy! How terrible! I'm so glad you are safe and that you were able to get DDL fixed. Sorry about the scratches and boo boos. I hope you're feeling okay.

[bikerz]

Ouch Cindy! Glad you (and the bike) are more or less OK!

I hope you get the derailleur situation figured out - that's unsettling, especially on your brand new baby!

I'm looking forward to seeing you on Sunday for the 30-miler.

[cindysue]

Cindy, sorry I didn't return your message. I was on the trails all weekend without reception most of the waking hours.

This sounds pretty weird. Did the shop tell you the cause of the problem?

No worries! Which trails?

Yeah - it is wierd and a bit of a mystery. The mechanic had several thoughts and I can only remember one of them:

The chain somehow got bent when it kept falling off and it eventually snapped in half and jammed into the derailleur. I don't know if he thought the chain jam broke off the hangar or this happened when I fell. But I got really upset when he told me I might have to purchase a new derailleur (ultegra ain't cheap and I am living off a student's income).

In the end the shop replaced the hangar and the chain for free. I felt guilty about it but at the same time I wondered if it was my fault (for continuing to ride on the bike) or a manufacture's defect or a glitch when the bike was build out. Thus - I'm not sure who should have paid - what do you think?

Thanks Shannon and Ann- I will see you both in the next few weeks....