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Up early and helped myself to breakfast. This upmarket B&B has a kitchen full of food that I’ve been invited to help myself to. Including the alcohol last night.
Bright frosty morning but I’m out at seven. Not long before I’m out of town and on the long undulating roads. After half an hour I begin to get a screach from the bike. I can see nothing and can’t determine whether it’s from crank or rear dérailleur. Pull over and lubricate everything and accidentally brush my hand over a hairy caterpillar. Now my hands itching and my face where I rubbed it.
Not much improvement. Pull over again and dismantle the jockey wheels in the rear dérailleur and clean. I have all the parts lined up on a sleeper when a lorry goes past and blows everything into the long grass. After ten minutes I’m one bolt and one washer short. After another fifteen minutes, same story. Rebuild the dérailleur using the not ideal spares I’m carrying. The squawking is no better. Change the washer on the jockey wheel, no better. Been riding four hours and covered less than 30 miles. SHIT.
Decide to inspect the whole rear mechanism, piece by piece. Remove all my panniers and turn the bike upside down. Rear cassette will not reverse and throws slack chain when I stop pedalling. Is it the new hub? Seems fine when I remove the wheel. Rear dérailleur and jockey wheels fine. By now I’m covered in oil and grease from my many attempts at a repair. HOORAY I see the problem a tiny grub screw that holds the hanger on has backed itself out. Screw it back in 3mm with a allen key, rebuild the rest of the bike, load panniers and good to go.
Sweet, no noises and I’m happy. 60 miles to go and it’s nearly midday. Not good, we calculate our time on the road at 10 miles an hour at that rate I’ll be riding in the dark for the last hour. I have the lights, but it’s not ideal. Crack on, the roads good and the wind is coming across my shoulder. Pushing 17mph for the next couple of hours. Take a short break to fuel up in “Conroe” and push into the weak headwind. Lake Conroe on my left then through the Sam Houston forest, very picturesque, for the last hour.
What I thought was going to be a horrid day turned out not to bad. Just need to clean the bike of all the lubrication tonight.