3rd day of icy pavement. Tomorrow they're talking up to 10" of snow, so I guess winter has officially arrived. 30F this morning and lots of fog.

My rear derailleur that started causing the chain to jump on Wednesday has been quickly getting worse. Jumped so bad this morning that it bounced the chain right off the sprocket. Unfortunately it was as I was trying to turn left through an intersection when suddenly I had no power. Had to waddle the bike around the turn as traffic stared at me, feeling like a complete idiot. Once around the corner I pulled to the curb and got the chain back on.

My old derailleur is so rusty and nasty looking that it's surprising it works at all. I can barely make out the brand and model through the corrosion (Shimano Altus.) The jockey wheels are almost round with little pointed nubs. The cage is kind of crooked after repeated crashes where I've had to try and straighten things back out. A decade of winter riding has finally taken its toll on this old thing. I ordered a new derailleur last night. Just have to milk this one for a few more days. It was only about a buck more to upgrade one group level higher, so I went with a Shimano Acera this time around. Probably won't notice a difference, but why not?