June 24, 1993

AXLE PROBLEMS

I really had a hard time riding along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia yesterday. It wasn't because of the hills but because my rear wheel wasn't tracking right. I tried to see if any spokes were broken but there weren't any broken ones. The tension of the spokes also seemed to be okay.

I got off the Parkway and headed into Asheville. I had to stop along the way and check out the bike several times. I was getting really puzzled. The tire seemed to be sitting on the rim okay. After the third stop, I just disengaged the rear brakes to see if it would help.

I located a bike shop but it was closed. Since last night was Wednesday night, I headed down the road some to see if I could find a church for the evening service. About a mile from the bike shop, I did find a small Baptist church. I got to the church about an hour before the service started. The first person there was the pastor who greeted me with a loud and friendly "Hello Brother".

During the service, I was given the chance to talk. One of the deacons said that maybe there should be an offering taken up for me. When I got the offering after the service, it was almost one hundred fifty dollars. After the service, I was also offered the use of the fellowship hall for the night.

In the morning, I walked the bike back to the bike shop. When the repairman checked out the rear wheel, he found out that the hollow rear axle had snapped in two and that is why the wheel wasn't tracking right. The only thing that was keeping the rear wheel up had been the quick-release skewer. It took about forty-five dollars to get the wheel fixed.