Chain Derailment

Notice the chain is at the very bottom of the V and not on the rings where it is intended. Also note we live in a 2011 world with scan code stickers placed on our bikes. Anyone care to scan it and tell me what it means?

On my first ride with the children, the chain on the Yuba Mundo slipped off when climbing a hill and shifting into low gear. Brent told me it was because I was applying too much pressure to the chain. Yesterday while going uphill to pick up the children the chain slipped off TWICE despite me paying extra attention to the tension. This led me to believe there is a problem with the bike and not with my cycling skills.

I don't intend to be naive about fixing our bicycles. However, while I am still trying to figure things out I will be taking my bike into the shop this morning and peering over their shoulder and asking a lot of questions. I already called to see if they thought it was me or the bike. They concurred with it being the bike.

In an effort to be more conscientious in my life, I have tried to stay more "in the moment." This is very hard for me to do. However I did observe that during the three chain derailments the following factors where present:

• I was shifting from 2 to 1 on the front chainring
• We were climbing a hill
• Oliver was in the iBert on the front of the bike.

What I don't know, is whether any of this had anything to do with the situation.

Yesterday the first derailment happened as I was crossing Washington Blvd. This is not good folks! The corner is already a hard one to see around and I was scooting across with my feet on the ground. I lifted the bike into a two foot space of grass between the road and a hedge and kept a quick eye on the traffic coming up behind me as I held the bike with one hand and tried to work the chain back onto the chainwheel with the other. It's a wonderful thing to live in a small town during times like these. I was there for one minute when a familiar Honda Odyssey came around that corner. My friend pulled around and came over to help me hold the bike while I worked with the chain and cleaned up. Oliver was very patient during our "emergency." Keep calm and carry on.