Snap! A Broken Spoke

For the fourth weekend in a row, I headed out to conquer Lookout Mountain. The plan was to do the climb twice, but the mountain had other plans.

Jessica and I set out about 9am, the air was cool, but perfect weather for riding. We cruised along making our way to Lookout Mountain. We got to Golden and had to wait forever to cross sixth avenue. This isn’t unusual, but it’s the longest light in the world! Finally the light changed and we got to cross. We made our way up a small hill which takes you in front of the RTD Park and Ride. About halfway up I heard a snap! Then a sort of ticking sound. I slowed down and looked at my wheels, but didn’t notice anything. I figured I better check, so I stopped and got off my bike.

A quick inspection and still nothing. I was confused, but then I saw it. Snap! A broken spoke!

Well this was not good, but luckily I had learned if you do break a spoke, you can wrap it around another one to get home. So I did just that. I started to ride, but something wasn’t right. The wheel was rubbing against the brake. I stopped again to see if I could adjust the brake, but no luck, the wheel had gone out of true. My bike was not ridable, or at least not enough to get me home.

I took out my phone and looked up local bike shops. Luckily there was one only a half mile away. I quickly called them to see if they would be able to fix my bike. They said sure, so I headed that way. I was lazy and didn’t want to walk my bike, so I opened up the back brake and rode on the wobbly wheel to the shop. When I got there, they were slammed. It took them a good while for them to even get to me.

After about 45 minutes they finally got the wheel fixed. I have a brand new black spoke, but the wheel was true again. I was able to finish the ride and climb to the top of Lookout Mountain. I didn’t beat any records that day, but still had a great ride and was happy that I was able to make it home.