I fully intended to ride the Icycle Bicyle, the traditional New Year's Day ride of the WPW. Out of the house by 10:15; plenty of time to roll down to REI for the 11 AM departure. Rolling into downtown, I exited the Point and, playing the role of law-abiding cyclist to the hilt, stopped at the light and waited for it to turn green. Crossing light goes red, cross traffic (all one car) clears the intersection, I step on the pedal, and take off. Midway through the intersection, I realize that either I've mysteriously dropped into a lower gear than I possess, my hub has decided to swing both ways (so to speak), or my chain has rejected fascist unity in exchange for a regime driven by the needs of the individual links to go their own way and do their own thing. Bugger.
The master link had blown; no big deal, as I habitually carry both a replacement link and a chain tool in my spares bag. Sadly, my New Years resolution to break bad habits apparently extended to said spares habit as well...I had neither replacement link nor chain tool.
It was a lovely hike to REI, and I got to watch the Icycle Bicycle contingent go whizzing by on the Jail Trail.
This bodes well for the new year's cycling...
