the 'bent went bonk

i tried for a clever title, but this one bites ass. sin embargo, this afternoon i noticed something screwy about the Rans. it wasn't doing well and seemed to be having front derailyer (don't care 'bout the spelling) probls. reallly my ride home stank. system noise, wouldn't shift in the big ring, sluggish performance. i chalked it up to my poor state of being or whatnot. o noticed that the side 'pulley' which assists the very long chain looked bent, something that had taken place another time. i later hit ledge pretty hard and assumed i was going to get a pinch flat, as i felt the rim hit. an all-round bad day, exacerbated by the bike mystery. i got home and did a little inspection to find that the chain line, along with the 'chain wheel' or 'pulley' was switched up, effectively shortening the chain length my a good measure. it looks like the bike fell right at some point, thereby switching the chain, bending the tab, and breaking off a little release mechanism on the Niterider safety light. sucks ass! i slightly bent back the tab, but now the nut is going to be hard to engage as it is hidden behind the affixed cables. frustrating!

concerning Cumberland Falls, the Sunday hike to Eagle Falls was great. the trail follows the river, sometimes provided great views of the while meandering in and out of rock houses. the first half of this part i was nervous, as steep, open areas kick in my phobia of, well, open steep areas. the trail passes through pine and coniferous forests and ends at Eagle Falls, a sacred place for Native Americans. it provided great opporutnities for bouldering, beaching and looking in clear pools which reminded me of some of those Kentucky river exhibits at the zoo. in route we also found some nice walking sticks to make everyone's trip easier. i think this was the best part of the weekend.

more later abt the weekend, and more about the damn 'bent later. i'll be back on the LHT tomorrow. i haven't mentioned yet, but i think my different position on the LHT is tweaking my back. more weight is back through my ass and it goes up my spine. i've never had any spinal bike pain before, lower back muscle ache yes, but spinal no. i also could've slept wrong and created it as well, but it's an on-going 'we'll see'. i know i CAN'T give up on the LHT though. i change saddles, stems, seatposts, etc. long before i ever change the bike.

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