so i’ve had some mechanical failures on my bicycles lately. that is a little annoying.

today i was riding the police bike to work and ninja-dodging folks across campus when it dechained on me, causing me to shoulder-check a girl and derby myself in the midst of a crowd of students. that was pretty embarassing, i have to say. there is a pretty strong theory that it’s impossible to crash unless other people are watching you, sort of a heisenberg’s uncertainty principle of cycling. only under observation does the quantum ‘falling/not-falling’ waveform collapse into your ass on the pavement.

the more impressive one was at .83’s fucking hills race on sunday. the FHR was a race scheduled to coincide with cascade bicycle club’s annual chilly hilly event. it’s a 33-mile loop around bainbridge island, with plenty of hillclimbing.

we met up early in the morning to take the ferry across. .83 folks were having a good time, drinkin’ bourbon and screwdrivers and munching on dumpster bagels slathered in peanut butter. we live the good life, i expect. the trailer was loaded down with a campstove and pots of chili to reheat for chowing down on after the race and spirits were pretty high. bedecked with pirate flags, in street clothes and with a variety of urban bikes we stood in contrast to the sea of hundreds of cascade riders in their spandex and neon jackets. we took the ferry across (they boarded us first!) and got ready for the race. i was excited, as i was one of the four or five of our crew doing it on a fixed gear. it was scheduled to rain, so i’d brought my fendered bike.

i got off to a good start and i was excited, getting my legs warmed up and following the pirate crew as we weaved through the pack of chilly hilly riders. when we got to the first descent i was picking up speed and all was going well until i was suddenly coasting.

that is not a good feeling on a fixie.

i started to move to the side of the road when the chain wrapped itself up into the rear wheel, causing it to lock up. then i was skidding. i managed to ride it out and burn off alot of speed until it actually burned through the tire, causing a loud *pop* as the tube blew out. then i was skidding on the rim. i came to a full stop a second or two later and stepped to the side of the road. the damage was pretty bad. the chain was destroyed, one of the teeth on my cog bent, the tire was shredded, and the rim gouged up nicely.

so i threw the bike over my shoulder and hiked it back to the finish line to await the rest of the racers. i helped justin stir the chili and generally tinkered with my bike – there was no way i was riding this. seth was the first racer to make it around, with daniel hot on his heels. the impressive part was that on the ascent side of the same hill daniel’s handlebar had snapped off and he had ridden the rest of the race with only half a handlebar. simply. amazing. not only that, he raced competitively enough to come in second. denny made it in 3rd place on his fixie, and it was only after the race that he managed to fall over on the boardwalk and rip a chunk of his forehead off.
fortunately, chessa was already picking up justin and the trailer on the other side of the ferry and i was able to get a ride home. it was still sad to see my bike broken.

still, a trip out to aaron’s bicycle repair last night and i’m now the proud owner of a new 1/8″ drivetrain for my fixed gear. it should prove to be fairly indestructible. next year, bainbridge is mine.

though i might just take my geared bike.

aaron took dfl in the race while riding chalo’s tall bike, but also managed to get his picture on the front page of the paper. you can almost make out the pirate flag mounted just above the front wheel.