Los Sauces, Chile
Strong headwinds convinced us to cut short our planned day from 110km to 72km. We didn’t have that option in the deserts of NW Argentina where towns are further apart. I replaced our chains in a mid-afternoon break. The old chain has stretched so much that it bends into a perfectly round “O”. The new chain will only bend into a “U” shape. This is my sixth chain so far this trip and Julie’s fourth.
My old chain after 4300 km.
January 26th, 2010 at 22:55
I didn’t know chains do that when they get stretched out – we need better materials. And wow, 200 nights of hotel. There should be some sort of bonus points system for that.
Just saw the news about the Machu Picchu landslide – yikes.
February 2nd, 2010 at 05:15
We change our chains twice as often as our tires. Old chains can wear down the teeth on the sprockets as they stretch, and putting on a new chain is so much easier than cleaning and lubricating the old one.