23rd
Time to Gear Down!
Riding to work in the morning, I usually get caught in the left lane of traffic at the red light in front of the Chateau Laurier Hotel on Wellington Street, Ottawa. After the light turns green, to keep up to traffic, I have a 175m sprint to the next light.
According to my friends and some uninhibitedly expressive strangers, I have larger than average legs. Some of it is muscle that enjoys much of its existence rotating a large chainring at 92 rpm. In traffic, it’s an inconvience to shift to a lower chainring at every stop, so I usually just leave it on the large chainring and pedal slowly until I get up to speed.
However, accelerating from a standing start, trying to keep up with traffic, and not gear down requires a massive amount of torque. For the second time is as many years, a green traffic light trumpeted my clydesdale legs into a snorting acceleration up the Wellington Street incline only to launch themselves into the freefall descent of a broken chain. Fortunately, having my feet clipped onto the pedals prevented any permanent personal pain at my crossbar. The last time, a rivet separated from a plate, but this time, the metal of one of the plates completely shattered.
Maybe it’s time to gear down…
