Also, my best friend from Pennsylvania, Ms. Lucy, is hoping to move to Solivita after retirement — so I’ve been using my Women’s huffy cruiser to go house hunting recently. In addition to that, I ride on the miles and miles and miles of perfectly manicured bike paths strategically placed throughout my 55+ gated community. If the bike has a derailleur 3/32″ / 2.4mm chains are used. Derailleur chains are also specific to the number of rear gears. 6, 7 and 8 speed systems use the same chain. I, too, went to sleep—at least for the next seven hours. It wasn’t nearly enough to wipe out the sleep debt from the night before, but at least the bed was more comfortable than the weeds.
Traffic got even heavier between the Mishawaka Amphitheater (Mile 170) and Ted’s Place (Mile 189), and I was thankful for lights and reflective gear while on this narrow-shoulder highway. For about 20 minutes during this stretch, huffy trail runner raindrops were tapping the helmet—curious considering the weather apps had claimed a 0% chance of rain. Indeed, there seemed to be plenty of blue sky ahead and to the south. Nevertheless, the precipitation felt refreshing.
Whatever the case, my wish for a relaxed, sit-down lunch stop at the Shell Station was now shot to pieces. I would have to bust out the wrenches and Phillips screwdriver to disconnect the rear coaster brake and undo the rear axle due to the lack of quick releases. More unnerving was the realization that the ruptured tube was not salvageable and that I’d have to use the only spare tube in my emergency kit to replace it. I had patches for punctures, but it didn’t occur to me earlier that split tubes were a real possibility with this bike. I should have brought at least two spares to have a higher margin of safety. Chains come in one length and are shortened to the appropriate length for the bike by removing links and joining the ends.
You’ll be back to enjoying your bike in no time at all.
This has never happened to me before when I was not riding a motorcycle. Maybe they thought a cruiser bicycle with a round honking headlight was “close enough” to being a Harley-Davidson’s brethren? After making a stop at Gould to resupply with water and buy a huffy nighthawk can of Coke and mini-donuts—the ultimate anti-bonking combo—it was smooth sailing down to Walden. This was because all the aerodynamic drag from the upright cruiser position and rolling resistance from the bike’s beach tires acted as a second and third brake.