Ever have something break down on your ride leaving you stranded? If not stranded, then seriously compromised? Mad mechanical skilz often remains the difference between walking and riding home.

Today on a 40 mile ride with 15 miles to go, I began to feel unusual forward and rear play in my left pedal while climbing. It was serious enough that came to a stop and unclipped. As soon as my left shoe was free from the pedal, I heard clinky noises, looked down and saw pieces of the pedal on the ground. These Look Click pedals are less than 2 months old, so I was surprised there would be any problem. From what I could tell, the two spring loaded plates that provide the tension grip around the cleat had somehow slipped out of their holding bracket.

Looking at the right pedal, I was able to figure out how it was supposed to be assembled. Using a piece of stick, I was able to wedge the pieces back in place enough so that I was able to continue. I'm lucky those pieces didn't fall at some point along the road. Had they fallen out, I would have been able to limp home, as long as I didn't pull up on the left pedal.

Any other roadside fix stories?