Haven’t ridden to work much, lately. Nothing but crap crap crappy excuses, really. Just four rides since November 1 (out of a possible twelve). Meh. Sick, and recovering, and lazy, and blah blah blah bl
And then last Friday, I hit a milestone. I encountered my first ever mechanical problem with the ol’ two-wheeled transport.
I was powering up my side of Alabama, zipping along, when I heard a little pop-clank-snap type sound, and a rattle. It sort of sounded like something had fallen off my bike, but I couldn’t see anything in particular. It was dark, however. I thought maybe my tire picked something up and rattled it through my fender, which happens sometimes. Whatever it was, I was still rolling up the hill, so I went ahead and rolled down.
At the bottom I noticed my computer wasn’t reading my speed. I figured maybe my sensor had fallen off, which annoyed me, since that meant it was sitting in the road somewhere at the top of the hill. I pulled off to check things out.
Sensor still attached? Check.
Little magnet thingie still on spoke? Check.
Spin wheel to see what’s up? Check, and computer still doesn’t work.
Which was about when I grabbed the magnet thingie to take a closer look, and found its spoke flopping free.
Busted a spoke.
Broken spokes are somewhat common problems for touring riders. Spokes keep wheels true, and a bike’s load (driver and cargo) is distributed among those spokes. Poorly built wheels will bust spokes frequently. Too heavy of loads can also cause problems.
I’ve been riding this bike for 4500 some miles, maybe 750 of it fully loaded, probably 3500 of it with at least some load, and just a little with no load at all. I feel like my wheels must be pretty good. I feel like my whole bike is pretty damn solid, since this is the first problem I’ve had while riding, ever.
So I busted a spoke. I have a truing stand. I have spare spokes. But I haven’t fixed it yet. I’m not sure if I should fix it myself or take it to the shop. And while I’ve sitting around not fixing it, I’ve conveniently avoided sub-20 degree temperatures in the mornings, and sub-30s in the afternoon. Coincidence, sure. Convenience, absolutely.
I will return to the road. Soon. I think hope.


