My South Africa bike jinx continues

The Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour was this weekend. Billed as the world's biggesr bike ride, it starts and ends in Cape Town and is a scenic 108km ride around the Cape Point.

I was looking forward to riding after getting in (and paying for) with an international entry - R400. I was also lucky and bumped up from the usual international starting crowd into the 'Z' group. But Saturday evening, as I was going out on an easy warm-up spin, my chain broke just outside the flat. A panicked run back into the house and a short drive to Bowman Cycles down on Bree Street later, I thought I was in the clear with a new chain. Nope.

The ride started off great, and I was flying along tucked behind some tandems that had started in the 'AA' group. Unfortunately, just as I got to Fish Hoek, I heard a horrific crunch. Pulling over, I found my Campy Record rear derailleur ripped in half, with the pulleys and the chain twisted badly. After much teeth grinding and frustration, a very nice and skilled mechanic named Bev rode by and helped me rig my my Campy 10 speed bike into a single speed and off I went again at a more sedate pace.

Unfortunately, I kept having to pull over because the chain would get jammed between the rear cogs on my cassette. The final straw came just outside Simonstown as we started climbing up. My chain snagged again, and this time I didn't have enough spare functional links to make my chain fit even a 39x12. I decided that pushing my bike and coasting on my bike for the next 60 km was only inviting more damage to the bike. I got the hint that today was not to be.

Yeah, I'm frustrated/upset/angry that I couldn't finish the ride. Even 24 hours later, I still have a lot of the endorphins rushing around. I guess I'm more competitive than I like to admit.