Broken Chain Loops of Central Park

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After three weeks riding indoors on my Tacx Fortius trainer, the weather improved enough to ride in Central Park. Preparing for the day, I took my bike out of its training stand, unconnected all of the wires connecting the frame to the computer and abandoned the fifty-inches of virtual reality for .. well.. reality.

One and a half laps around the park and the chain popped while climbing The Great Hill in the northwest corner, near 110th Street. Luckily the chain did not foul the wheels but slid gracefully off the chain ring and on to the West Drive. The Wipperman Connex (removeable chain link) that I had removed the night before to clean the chain (and carefully replaced) was no-where to be found. So much for the convenience of a removeable link.. I'm going to stick with a chain link removal tool from now on to avoid such disasters.

Luckily, this is Manhattan, and I pulled off the front and back wheels, hailed a cab and threw the bike in the trunk. After reaching Pam on the phone, we figured that Toga at 63rd and First Avenue would be opening in a few minutes and half an hour later, I had a new Shimano Ultegra 10-gear chain and extra links installed. (Thanks guys!!)

So, this afternoon after a thourough cleaning, I'm packing up the bike and heading out to San Diego with the family for some rides out in Palm Springs, probabably up in Joshua Tree National Park. Today's anomolous weather won't last and the desert in winter is a sure thing for riding this time of year.

The trip to Thailand begins in two and a half weeks, so it is time to start getting in some longer rides to get ready for the hills of the Golden Triangle. Also, the Cape Argus Classic on 8 March in South Africa is such an early race, which means that the only way to get ready is to put in some solid rides in January and February.