Oops, jammed the chain. Now what?

[westtexas]

Sooo... after my 12 mile ride in 18mph winds (it was fun, btw) I decided it was time to clean the chain. I do this about every 3-5 rides because there is so much dirt/trash in the shoulders out here.

Well, in the process of doing this, I managed to fubar the chain. It's now stuck between the big wheel and the little wheel of the pedal crank thing at the "outlet" going towards the rear derailleur. I know how to get the chain to slacken up by pressing on the derailleur, but I have no idea how to get the chain "unstuck" and back on the little wheel of the pedal crank (I think this is where the chain goes?). How do I fix this?

Sorry for my lack of proper terminology... I haven't learned all the jargon yet. Just trying to avoid a trip to the LBS.

All help sincerely appreciated! Thanks!

[DebW]

Well, if you can't wiggle it out, you can always loosen the chainring bolts.

[hebe]

Turning the bike upsidedown made it easier when I did this. A cup of tea, lots of wiggling and plenty of patience. Sorry not to be more helpful but I hope you can get it unstuck.

[Grits]

Turning the pedals while bike is turned upside down often works for me.

[westtexas]

Well, I got it fixed. The pedals could not be turned at all whatsoever, so that didn't work. I ended up taking it to the LBS and the nice guy working there told me the derailleur was the problem. He clicked the shifter and voila, it was fixed. I felt pretty dumb as it took about 5 seconds for him to diagnose and fix. Oh well, at least I know now!