Biking | James Chan

Heart Breaking Fuyang

December 22nd, 2010 James No comments

By heart breaking, I didn’t mean Fuyang is heart breaking, in fact, Fuyang of Hangzhou city is a nice place. The thing is that my bike’s chain broke right before the race started, which also broke my heart.

The XC (Cross-Country) riding competition in Fuyang was broadcasted few weeks ago, I got very excited and signed up for it when I heard of it. Finally it came and I thought I was ready for it. Early Saturday morning, December 18, I got up and rushed to gather with other friends from the club, loaded the bikes and set out to go at 9. It took us nearly 6 hrs to get to Fuyang due to the freeway was closed for snow left on roads days earlier, and traffic jam here and there.

After circling around to the city for a place to eat, we finally sat down at a small noodle shop and quickly finished it. We then headed to the course, where is located in an island. We changed our gears and went test riding the tracks. The track was good, I liked it but it was not clearly marked and I got lost in it. I was even chased by some bulls. But finally we found the exit and got out.

December 19, race day, it was bright. The view was beautiful, I didn’t really get to see the blue sky like that very often here in China. I got up very early as I thought warmup was very important. I again rode to the track, and yet again, I spent quite some time to get back by when my friends were ready and waiting for me, I felt sorry.
It was 8 already and the race was to start at 8 30. We rushed to the register and checked in. Got the plates, and attached it to my bike immediately and rushed back to start point. I didn’t know exactly the starting line and asked the referees, and surprisingly the answer was no. OMG.
Now the tragedy began, I heard a cracking sound, I got off the bike and checked it out. Usually this happens when chain slips, this time, sadly, it was not, the chain broke. It was 8 20 already and I could not get a chain tool to fix it. I was like f**k, how could this shit happen to me!
So I paid load of money, missed the game. It was a disaster. All right, that’s it, I got back to my room, took a shower, cleaned my bike and waited to go back home. I can never forget this and I have to write it down. The thing I learned is that always do a full check up before any riding to make sure your bike is i good condition. Always!