The Irony Cycle

Preface:

I'm broke. While walking the supermarket aisle the other day, I came to the conclusion that (assets aside) i'm more broke than i've ever been ever. With that out of the way...

Story:

This weekend, I went down to Temecula to hang out at a friend's ranch, watch football, and ride a little. The roads out there were amazing (with some steeeep pitches). I still don't have a front derailleur, but hey, I'm still going to ride...just like i've been doing all week. I've nearly mastered the "manual shifting" thing. So we set off for a nice 3-4 hour ride. The roads were great, but were in poor shape. I usually enjoy jaunts on poor pavement...dirt, even...but again, I harshly learned that the main purpose of the front derailleur is not to shift, but to keep the chain from coming off. Definitely riled me up and vastly took away from the enjoyment. Gah. So phase one of the story: I'm upset and annoyed and have a black left hand from putting on/shifting the chain.

So...3 hours in, 15 miles from home, on a short little roller, boom. The chain snaps. My chain-autopsy findings for the chain are as follows: During one of the several (10+) times the chain came off due to bumpy roads, the chain got lodged between the crank arm and the chainrings. I guess I took a pedal stroke to try to align it (I remember doing this), and instead, the jammed chain became slightly warped. Then it mangled itself slightly more with every pedal stroke, until....yeah. Campy chains just don't break. Ever. This is the first. F, man. It's really destroyed my will to ride. I need a front D, I need a new chain. Silly. What else is there to move on ebay? I should be working soon...but not soon enough, obviously. Eh.

Derailleurless, Chainless, Motionless