Jul 10 - not stuck by the side of the road

Sandy continued her cleanup project, raking, raking, raking.  I might think that she's competing with the neighbours but really it's because she doesn't have a garden this year.  My plumbing projects were mostly over, all but the vinegar wash of the hot water heater, which I did this morning.

I headed out on my bike around noon into a west wind. The deer fly population is HUGE this year; something like the mosquito population except that the Mega Catch doesn't do anything for deer flies.  Once at Highway 69, they are negligible but on Osprey and 522, you have to keep moving.

They seem to like black.  They land on my gloves and bite through and the same with my shorts.  What I need, perhaps, is white shorts !  I guess not, that wouldn't be pretty.

On the way home, I stopped just short of Britt at one of the driveways for those communication towers -- call of nature -- and I don't know what I did, but the next thing I know, my chain is between the spokes and my cassette.  I sensed what was happening and didn't try to pedal. 

Ugh.  I've been here before ... Edinburgh.

This time I didn't fool around.  I have a few nitrile gloves in my pack, put them on.  I got out my chain tool, popped a pin through so that I could remove the wheel and chain together.  I walked back to the barrier on the aforementioned driveway, wrapped one end of the chain around the steel barrier, gave the chain a little tug along its length, not trying to pull it past the cassette.  That moved the wider plate away from the spokes and the chain came out without any issues.   

Wheel back on, thread the chain through, use the chain tool again to install a pin ... but that pin doesn't look right.  I've never had a problem with a Shimano chain pin before ... I guess that I might have had an old 9-speed pin in my little box of screws etc. I removed two links, one on either side of the probably-screwed-up-plates, used another pin and all was ok.  I rode the rest of the way home on the small chain-ring, not taking a chance that the chain was now too short. 

Home ... showered and catching up at the computer; Sandy wants to record the PanAm Opening Ceremonies.  Well, the newer satellite receiver that I have in my den doesn't allow me to feed the Panasonic DVR, some sort of DRM (digital rights management), but the one upstairs and in the basement don't have a problem.  I had planned on moving the unit to the basement but decided that I'd go ahead an move it to the loft.  I started recording at 7pm; set it for 4 hours; time for dinner.  Later on, Sandy would watch from the beginning, fast forwarding through commercials.

Another day was done.

Onward.