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A Hilly Route to Somerset

5/21/2017

4 Comments

 
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Cindy B organized a hilly route from Heath to Somerset.  Odd that only 6 came out for it but the weather was probably a factor with rain threatening in the early to late afternoon depending on which service was checked.  Matt, Kristian, Katherine and Steve came out. If we were not climbing, we were descending and eventually arrived at a point where a layer or two had to come off.  Above, Steve, riding his cross bike, spotted something in....
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....the weeds.  How bout that, a bike.  Walking in there to check it out likely would mean walking out with 100 ticks so I declined the urgings of my fellow cyclists.
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A misty, cloudy day as we head east from Fling Ridge Park on Poplar Forks/Mt Perry roads south.
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Steve's rear derailleur cable broke, fixing his chain on the smallest sprocket in back. On this route, that would be a problem.  Just then, a tour bus emerged from the gloom, probably lost.
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We were unable to fix it and when Steve got onto #668, he was forced to get off and push the bike.  I regret not having that image.
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Entering Glenford, what luck!  Jeff's Automotive but alas, the shop was closed.  Next, Steve....
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....saw a man and asked if he had a wire or something so he could fix the rear derailleur in a position so at least the chain would be in one of the larger sprockets but the man was unable to help.  Then, what luck!!!
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....other cyclists arrived, including Tim F, Eve, Beth, etc...  I was providing encouragement while....
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....most of the others socialized across the street.  Nothing solved the "mechanical" so Steve called a friend for pick up and we continued on although now without Kristian and Katherine who had to return.  Now it was down to Matt, Cindy and me as we....
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....cruised into and out of Somerset, finishing with 78 miles and 4400' of climbing.
           
4 Comments
Corvair
5/22/2017 06:29:02 am

Sounds interesting! TOSRV was enjoyable. Saw Mark V at the start, helping with parking. Andrew Hall left me so met up with Lisa Antolino and then got picked up by the New Albany group. Fun to ride with them.

Reply
Larry P
5/24/2017 12:57:24 pm

On a Somerset route there is no fun to be had with a fixed rd. However a few tidbits.

Once on a flatter route years ago, I jammed a small stick inside the Derailleur cage to keep it in a middle sprocket.

Of course, the first thing try is to tighten the lower setscrew as far as it will go and see what cog that fixes you on. Might get you enough range for easier climbs and a small ring.

Lastly prevention. Shimano systems tend to be forgiving and give you warning. If your otherwise properly shifting bike suddenly seems to be getting sloppy, don't ignore or adjust the shifting. Pull the shift cable and take a look at the end that goes into the shifter. Nearly always that bend is where the failure starts and it may be one or two strands broken. I have run across a badly shifting bike down to two strands remaining. If in doubt, replace the cable, a five minute job on Shimano.

Reply
Mark
5/24/2017 03:08:38 pm

Thanks for the good contribution Larry and, may I remind you, had you been at the ride as planned, you would have probably provided the fix!

Reply
LP
5/25/2017 07:19:07 am

Beauty sleep. Hard enough to get to NA by 8AM, where I played the role of cannon fodder.




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    Mark is a long-time cyclist, hiker, golfer and plays some table tennis...ok, it's ping pong.

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