Oh the love of mechanicals...

After the back latch of my trunk got stuck and we had to dismantle my bike to get it out of the side doors, it's safe to say that my day was definitely not starting out as the best it could have yesterday! I just ignored it as there is a reason I hardly ever drive that piece and it's either getting sold or driven into the ground soon so might as well deal with the annoyances :)

At any rate, Melanie, James and I drove up to Nederland (8500ft) to escape the 100 degree heat in Boulder and get some quality mountain biking in. Right from the get-go, I knew something wasn't quite right with my shifting and chain but again, ignored it and kept riding so that I didn't have to make everyone else stop. After hearing the obnoxious noise, James told me to switch bikes so he could try to figure out the issue. He immediately told me that the pulley on the rear derailleur was totally worn out and that the chain was using the cage (which was also completely shot) to stay on the pulley instead of the teeth of the actually piece. Nothing we could do about it there so I told him it would be fine and to continue with the ride. About 15min later, the chain lost its path and I snapped the cage that was keeping the chain in line...crap. While Mel rode in circles, James switched the front and rear pulleys in hopes that it would stay on for the duration of the ride. It worked for a good 20min, then somehow my entire wheel popped off the bike and bent my rear rotor causing another 15min stop. Okay, back to the trail...After another 15min of riding, the rear pulley wasn't hanging on without the cage and kept popping off...no biggie, I'd just hop off and realign the sucker ever 2-3min and not cause a fuss! Well that worked about 10 times or so until we went up a steep section where a little torque on the bike snapped the pulley and what was left of the cage right off!!! SHIT!!!! James did a little surgery on the bike and made it into a fixed gear so I could at least make it out of the trail and get to the car...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! Could you imagine what would have happened had James not been there? Well Mel and I sure couldn't, we'd be an absolute mess.

After getting to the car, we made a pit stop at the Co-op so I could get James a huge muffin for his efforts and patience. He has since taken 'the carcass', which he has named my bicycle, home with him to rejuvinate and make ridable for another adventure today!!! What a rockstar he is :)

SHEP, WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME?????