Old 01-22-23, 05:05 PM
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mschwett 
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Cyclists in the real world are so generous/thoughtful

today i had a (semi-self-induced) mechanical in an area without cell service, and didn't have the quick-link pliers needed to resolve it. was hammering a descent pretty hard (for me), approx 40mph and 750w, when i saw a car on a crossing road that honestly i've never seen a car on in 100+ rides. i had the right of way, no stop sign my way, no light, no yield, and the car wasn't moving, but it surprised me and i abruptly let off the pedals and may have even backpedaled a bit. next thing i know, chain is strangely jammed. rolled off to take a look at it and found the chain between the little ring and the chainstay, all the way up against the bottom bracket. clearance between the little ring and the chainstay is way less than the thickness of the chain, at least without serious force which nobody who saw the problem thought it wise to apply. i assume while riding hard, that area is flexing in ways that increased the clearance, plus the rotational force and perhaps very good timing of the chain plate geometry and it slipped in there.

figured, whatever, i'll walk a few miles to where there is service (it's just a smallish pocket of no service, not even far from the city) and get an uberXL for the short ride of shame to a shop or home, either within 5 miles or so.

this is a popular riding route, and perhaps 20 to 30 other riders passed in the next 5 to 10 minutes, and the vast majority, if not every single one offered to help. a group of 6 or 7 didn't have the chain pliers but thought they might be able to resolve otherwise, but couldn't. another couple inquiries later and a very nice, very thoughtful, mechanically skilled guy on a gravel bike had a plastic type of detachable chain plier that i haven't seen, which popped open the quick link no problem, chain out, back in correct routing, back together in a few minutes. he was super helpful, just like everyone else before him tried to be.

this was mile 11 of a planned 50-60 mile route, and i was very happy to continue. can't wait to pay it forward.
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