Bike Problems

Near the end of yesterdays 75 mile ride along the rainy Pacific Coast, I ran into some major bike issues. During the day, I had noticed that my rear derailleur seemed to be bent. Then it happened. The derailleur caught on the spokes, breaking three of them on the freewheel side of my rear wheel. Not a problem easily fixed on the side of a darkening rainy road. Fortunately, we were able to hitch a ride for us and the bikes the remaining 2 miles to Cape Dissappointment State Park campground. Then this morning, with suprising ease, I got a ride with my bike from the campground directly a bike shop in Astoria, OR, about 15-20 miles away. I am currently waiting for the repair to be completed. The cause of all my problems appears to be a slightly bent drop-out for my rear wheel. It must have happened 2 days ago when I fell over while rushing to get into the woods for a quick relief break.

Jon