Broke a spoke on a century ride outside Portland last summer

I was about 60 miles into a 100 mile ride near the Columbia River Gorge when I heard that snap. Had to walk two miles to a gas station where a guy let me borrow a multi-tool to get the wheel true enough to limp home. Has anyone else had to MacGyver a fix mid-ride?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthew86427d ago

60 miles in, near the Gorge, that's exactly where I'd expect something to snap honestly. The wind tunnels there eat spokes for breakfast. My personal MacGyver move was using a zip tie to hold a busted derailleur cable to my frame once, got me 30 miles home in the granny gear. Your gas station savior sounds way more helpful than the guy who just laughed and pointed me to a bike shop five miles down a dirt road. At least you're not out there becoming one with the sagebrush for the night.

nina14727d ago

That zip tie move is genius, and I bet it felt like winning a small war when you made it home. But your line about "becoming one with the sagebrush" reminded me of this time I got a flat on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere, and a cow just walked up and stood there staring at me like I was the entertainment. I tried using a torn inner tube strap to hold the tire bead in place, but it just flapped around uselessly. Ended up stuffing grass clumps inside the tire to cushion it enough to roll a few miles to a farmhouse, where the farmer's wife gave me a real patch kit and a glass of lemonade. I've never looked at sagebrush the same way since, because at least the cow didn't judge my bike repair skills out loud.