March Madness

It's almost over. One more game to see if the Huskies or Bulldogs reign as champs this year in NCAA basketball. I'm pulling for Butler, though I admit I was too busy this year to even complete a bracket since my own (January through) March madness overwhelmed me. Thankfully, it's also coming to an end soon.

Looking back at March, I did have one good week of riding (March 14 - 18) when I covered half of the week's commutes on bicycle. Since then, the weather has been spotty and I haven't wanted to ride the the Long Haul Trucker until conditions improve a bit, but the coming week looks good, especially if rain washes the winter sand and grime off the streets and trails.

Saturday was one of the first truly bike-able days of the year, and it marked two milestones: the first time I have broken two chains in one day, and the first ride on the Drifter in 2011. I rode my Dunelt 3-speed to the closest bike shop (the Hub) to grab a new chain for the Trucker, but the chain snapped only blocks from my destination. This was caused more by the significant corrosion that had accumulated on the chain than my massive leg strength overpowering the steel rivets. To add to the irony, the shop was out of the size of chain I needed for the Dunelt so I "scootered" home on the bike.

After a few botched attempts to install the new chain on the Drifter (more on that later), I met up with a friend to wheel over to the opening of 2011 Minneapolis Artcrank, and break in the Drifter. This was my second time checking out the Artcrank event, and I actually thought this year featured a stronger selection of posters than the 2009 event. I walked away empty handed, yet again, primarily a function of the posters I liked not fitting any color schemes in our house. Here are my top three:

"Neighborhoods" - Adam Turman

"Twin Cities Cycling: Stone Arch Bridge" - Tim Kramer

"Twinfinite Cities" - Todd Zerger

Don't worry if you wanted to check out Artcrank but couldn't make it to opening night, it continues through May 22 but moves on to One on One Bike and then Art-a-Whirl. Check the website for details.

So how did the other chain break? On the return leg of the ride, the chain snapped right as I crossed Lake Street on Minnehaha Avenue, this time only one block from the Hub (which had been closed for an hour). As I mentioned before, I experienced a few mishaps installing it initially and forgot to properly weave it through both the front and rear derailleurs (not once, but twice). The final time breaking and reconnecting the chain was a little sloppy, and I wondered how well it would hold up. Not well it turns out. Two bikes, two rides, two broken chains.

I figured I needed a few minutes to simmer down, so I walked the bike home.