Tempo chain drop and recovery

March 13: Commute 11.4 miles to work
March 15:Spin class
March 17: Last ski runs at Shawnee Peak for the season
March 18: 24.1 miles around Nahant and Marblehead, 14.6 mph average
March 19: 9 miles commute home

I was finally able to get out and do somewhat of a tempo ride to Nahant. The causeway is entirely chewed up, so I had to ride the walking path. Needless to say, I soft-pedaled that, which was OK. I finally got out on the Trek, and it was fun to be able to let loose.

One stupid thing I did was to try and time trial the Causeway at the end of the ride into a head wind just 20 minutes before I had to pick up my daughter from Temple. Sure, I shaved three seconds off my best time, but I nearly wiped out two cyclists on the curve. Then, there was not enough time to make it around the Neck. I'm also finding it strange that all my favorite rides are mapped out and now I have to beat the clock all over the place with Strava. I've got to not take this Strava thing to seriously.

Chain dropped, chain recovered

On the commute home on the Ayube Bypass, I had the greatest chain recovery ever. My chain hopped off the big ring as I flew down the bridge. I wasn't racing, I was trying not to spin out the small chainring. Now, this is the bypass, and stopping in the middle of it was not an option. At 21 mph, the chain was dangling off my crank. So I backpedaled a little, popped the front derailleur, and pedaled the chain back on the front cog. I had never done that before. The thought of getting off my bike on the bypass scared the bejeebers out of me. That tip on how to recover your chain from Bicycling magazine made the subscription all these years worth it.