Not Exactly an F1 Pitstop

Having never ridden anything like this distance at one go, I didn't have any good idea as to how fast stuff would wear out — chains and tires chief among them.  Our patience was doing fine.

Chain wear is particularly insidious.  The holes the pins go through start to oval, allowing the chain to stretch, which then makes an increasingly poor match with the sprockets.  I had been suffering chain hop in the tallest gear for a couple weeks, and figured that to be the root of all evil.  Leave that go long enough, and the entire drivetrain starts getting wallered out.

Additionally, our tires were getting smooth in the center.  The odds of going the remaining five hundred miles were reasonably good, but even if they did make it, I'd chuck them as soon as we got home.

So, why wait?  Especially since Bert's Bikes was right along our route in Webster.  I called ahead, and they agreed to get started when we arrived.  After all, how hard can it be?

The new tire are much better suited to our riding

Discovering a broken spoke in my rear wheel, that's how hard.

I have a bike work stand at home.  That isn't a work stand, this is.

After four hours there, we still had another 30 between us and Spodus Point.  Spectacular day, great roads, and the panoply of upstate NY scenery.  But we had the hammers down, so no photos en route.

Fifty-seven beautiful miles interrupted by a cash-flow event.  Four hundred sixty one miles that bloody well ought to be maintenance free, but that isn't how reality works, so that isn't where the smart money is.

And we are down to our last week.