I was blown like a leaf from Eastbourne over to Bexhill through deep water by the level crossing and shingle banks blown onto the road on Harebrand Walk. Met up with Slawomir, then Barney and Trevor turned up having battled into the wind. We set off promptly before getting too cold into a very stiff headwind, we quickly instigated a steady through and off which promised to make the slog back upwind less arduous and then suddenly I was grinding to a halt. Turns out something had gone catastrophically awry with the drive chain and as per attached photo the chain had got wrapped around my derailleur and the momentous torque I was putting into it has ripped the hanger right off! As Barney said at least it didn’t happen in a sprint. On reflection I think the chain was beyond worn and one of the links came apart and the side plate has got itself caught in the jockey cage, there were strange noises and such going on prior to this which I realise now I ought to have investigated but just assumed at the time was the beginning of noise of a stretched chain skipping on a worn cassette.
Not only did I have to phone my wife to come out and rescue me in the howling wind but I am now looking at what I imagine will be an expensive repair (unless I can make a case for a new bike, there’s a way to turn a problem into a solution).Tom Norris
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