"DAD MY PEDAL FELL OFF!"
Well, that could be a problem...
His pedals are nearly 20 year old Crank Bros Candys, which are not known for being so durable. The outer bushing disintegrated, and the pedal slid off the spindle. I managed to get it put back together so the bike was rideable, and hopefully we could make it in to town.
But this is RAGBRAI.
Five miles down the road, we have a roadside bike mechanic. New pedals on the bike in a half hour.
However the mechanic pointed out that Max's bottom bracket is also shot. (Bottom bracket is the part with the bearings where the crank arms attach.) Max's bottom bracket is an obsolete standard (Octalink), for a crankset with triple chainrings (very uncommon these days). The mechanic doesn't have one, but suggests Bike World might.
So when we get in, we go into town to the Bike World vendor booth. They don't have one. So cross fingers that we can do 200 more miles without having the bottom bracket fail and getting to ride the SAG wagon.
It was a huge day yesterday. Ninety miles, not including the ride into town to visit Bike World. 3500 feet of climb. We are tired. Max crushed his record for the most miles he's ridden in a day. Max is super proud of himself.
However the mechanic pointed out that Max's bottom bracket is also shot. (Bottom bracket is the part with the bearings where the crank arms attach.) Max's bottom bracket is an obsolete standard (Octalink), for a crankset with triple chainrings (very uncommon these days). The mechanic doesn't have one, but suggests Bike World might.
So when we get in, we go into town to the Bike World vendor booth. They don't have one. So cross fingers that we can do 200 more miles without having the bottom bracket fail and getting to ride the SAG wagon.
It was a huge day yesterday. Ninety miles, not including the ride into town to visit Bike World. 3500 feet of climb. We are tired. Max crushed his record for the most miles he's ridden in a day. Max is super proud of himself.
The charter randomly decided to order pizzas. It was awesome rolling into camp and seeing a giant stack of pizza boxes waiting for us. ($2/slice, $10/pie).
Our first stop for the day was at the Iowa Conservation Tent, for a free banana.
One cool thing they do here is they hand out milkweed seed bombs for Monarch butterflies. The idea is for the people riding RAGBRAI throw them along the side of the road as they ride. This is brilliant.
We had lunch by Max's demand at Mr. Pork Chop again. Max is devouring all food he can stuff in his face now, which is great.
He still is mad when I take his picture, and he won't smile or give any impression he is actually having fun.
Our friend Murray has arrived from Chicago, with special treats. I am having fun.
Here is the Strava track for today.
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