Originally Posted by daijoubu2k8

Tuesday afternoon was the worst bike ride I've ever had! Apparently Conti Ultra Sports are only good for 2900km on the rear. That little tiny hole I had on Monday night caused a blowout on the way to MEC and was the size of a dime before I got home. I couldn't even get 30 km on the tire. Good thing I'd picked up a spare at MEC. To make the trip worse, my freewheel locked up and wrapped the rear derailleur around the axle! Nothing like major repairs at the road side. I converted my bike to a single speed and swapped out the tires just to get home. Stopped at the Bike to Work Week commuter station by Metropolis for some coffee and a banana. Thank goodness for them, the brightest spot in the ride! Made it to Bonsor in time to join my son for his last preschool soccer class. I don't know why people like riding single speed. Either you're grinding up a hill in a gear that's much too high, or you're pedalling like mad going nowhere on the flats. What a horrible thing to do to a good bike!

No commutes for today. Played hookie today and ran around town looking for a new RD. Shoulda gone to New West Cycles first. Grabbed a good used Deore LX rear derailleur and a 7 speed Shimano freewheel plus shifter cable for $20. Everything is back on the bike and I'm looking forward to riding with the extra gears and a long cage derailleur. I know, why would you put Deore parts on a road bike... I works and it was cheap! I could've tried my hands with some old Simplex derailleurs!