Tsali

It took me a while to get around to this, but better late than never, right?

Let me start off by saying that Mother Nature must have it out for me, when it comes to riding at Tsali. I can't seem to get two days in a row of riding. I have yet to get in more than one day of riding since I first went to Tsali. I know the area stays wet, but come on! Despite the lousy weather, the place was bustling.


Memorial Day weekend...can you say "busy"?

I can't complain about the weather too much, because after all, I was at Tsali...which is some of the best singletrack this side of the Mississippi River.


Wonderful Tsali singletrack

The ride started off well, the new bike was simply awesome. Being in the best shape I've ever been in didn't hurt either. I found myself passing some people on the climbs, which says a lot considering that I'm a flatland, Florida boy.


All I need is one of those "Travelocity" Gnomes to complete the picture.

Everything was clicking, the bike, the new tires (1.95 Nevegal's), my fitness. As you might guess, that's when the opportunity is ripe for a mishap. Well, why break with tradition... And what a mishap I had. At close to the 5 mile mark, I noticed that I was getting some slipping in various gears, so I chalked it up to cable stretch. I was taking an overlook loop to get some photos of Lake Fontana when the slipping became intolerable. I stopped for a moment, and a cursory glance didn't show anything wrong...so back on the bike I get. I don't get 10 ft before I stop again. The slipping is making riding impossible. This time when I inspect the drivetrain I find the problem (or one of them). My chain has broken, but not in the usual "breaks in half" method. One side of the chain, one plate broke off. A good Samaritan comes up and after about 15 minutes or so, we get a SRAM/Shimano hybrid chain put together and I'm off for the trailhead. At this point I'm still thinking that cable stretch is the cause for the bulk of the slipping, and that the chain break was a whole other issue. So I'm thinking that I can still salvage my ride. At the trailhead is a guy who has a trailer full of parts, food/drinks, souvenirs, and he even does some repairs.


A welcomed sight, especially if you've broken something.

I'm thinking that I'll get the guy to adjust the cables and off I'll go for the next trail. I keep the gear changes to a minimum due to the slipping and some uncertainty as to the strength of my hybrid chain. Despite that, I actually enjoy the ride back to the trailhead, and in the end I had a good time for completing the trail.

The bike is put on the stand, and the guy goes about checking the cables. He does find the rear cable is loose. After tightening it, he still can't get it to shift right. It is at this moment that the real culprit raises its ugly head.
One of the cogs on my cassette had broken, broken right at a rivet. It was the 4th gear, which meant it was one of the titanium cogs at that.


The infamous broken cog.

It doesn't take much imagination to figure out that I was done at that point. Also, it's not too surprising that I walked away from there more than a little miffed that a top of the line XTR cassette broke after 50 or so miles. Not a glowing recommendation for an XTR cassette, is it?

Fast forward a few days...the bike shop where I bought the bike from is awesome. Todd (the owner) replaced the cassette AND the chain, and it didn't cost me a dime... not that I was about to fork over any money, but at least I didn't have to make a issue of it. He put on SRAM's best casssette. He said that it only weighs a bit more than the XTR, but it's a lot more durable (which I've heard before). He could've gotten Shimano to warranty the cassette, but it would've meant waiting. I figured that I'd go with the SRAM, because weight don't mean a damn thing if it constantly is breaking.

In the greater scheme of things, my little episode was no big deal. While I was packing up at the trailhead I heard of some poor woman that augered and dislocated a shoulder. That's a hell of a way to round out a weekend, huh?