Planning the Sangres route: Salida to Salida
Monday August 12, 2013
I have been a bad, bad girl.
I replaced my chain at the 800 mile mark. I should have replaced it again in Laramie at the 3000 mile mark. I did not. I am now closing in on 4000 miles. Shame on me.
I take the bike down to Absolute Bikes to get a new chain. The guy measures it. Yes, definitely ready for a new chain. “How many miles have you done on it”?
I look at the floor and meekly say, “um, about 3000”.
“Whoah. How much weight do you carry”?
Again, I look at the floor, “About 30-35 pounds”.
“Well, you might need a new rear cassette, too”, says the bike guy.
“Yeah, I’m prepared to pay for that if it needs it. I’ve gone through 4 or 5 chains and never had to replace the cassette yet”.
He asks a few more questions about the trip and assures me I can get the bike back later today. They’ll put on a new chain, test it out, and if it needs a new cassette, they’ll replace that, too.
Mom and I get in a hike, get in some food and I look up all the details I need to do a loop on the “Highway of Legends” scenic byway starting tomorrow. Mom does my laundry again. A chick could get spoiled by this treatment.
The bike doesn’t need a new cassette. “Ride it for a few days and see how you go. If the gears are still sticking, bring it back and we’ll put on a new cassette”, says the guy I get the bike from. He can’t believe I got 3000 loaded miles out of the last chain.
So, the bike doesn’t need a new cassette. But it does need a new tube. I’ve got another slow leak in the front tire. It will be flat number 7 for the trip when I finally get around to fixing it two days later. Sheesh.