November 25, Day 38: Concepción to Chillán
Potentially trip-ending drama today. I was leaving the tollbooths at Penablanca, rolled off the pavement onto the road, and the crank arm broke off. The crank arm is that very solid piece of metal connecting the pedal to the bottom bracket. It routinely takes my full weight when I'm standing on the pedals, so I'd expect it to be generously overengineered. So I was quite shocked when it cracked off.
I did have the presence of mind to get a photo. (But if I start taking reaction face selfies please strangle me.) I had a good look at the cracked edge, felt a bit let down by Bombtrack, and stuck it into the pannier for later.
From left to right: the crank arm and pedal that broke off. Bottom bracket showing breakage. Selfie in the lift this morning with the bike. Things that are not allowed on the motorway. The bikepaths this morning - not bad!
Since I'm right beside some toll booths I could easily flag down a ute and get a lift onwards. But that's a last resort: I'm still mobile! That one working pedal means I'm half power. I'll have to walk up steep hills but if it's not too steep I can probably get up a decent speed.
So the big question is: where's the nearest bike repair shop? I've done that Google search too many times this trip. This time the answer is: no connection. On the offline map I can see Quillón is not far ahead, it's a similar size to the town of Florida that I just passed. Going back means climbing some big hills. Going forward is flat. So it's onwards!
To cycle with one pedal I’m going to need a toestrap. I haven't used it in two months so it's getting a bit ratty. But it’s still attached and still works. It falls off if I don't angle my foot in the right way, and I have to stop the bike to get it back on. But once everything is in place, I can make good progress!
When I have some network so I search again: there's one bicycle repair shop in Quillón. No reviews. But it's the best option I've got. It's a bit over 10km away but that's no problem: I’m now quite consistent with one-pedal biking and could go all day if needed.
The repair shop is someone's house. I press the doorbell and someone comes to take a look through the fence. He lets me in once he’s seen the problem. The mechanic is an old guy who is quite happy to give long explanations to me in Spanish which I follow only fractions of. But he has a replacement part, and I give him space to get on with the work.
The new pedals I got in Puerto Varas get put on, they're the ones I picked up just before breaking a tooth. The old ones are well past their best and go into the bin. The new chainring has three cogs instead of two, and the gears need to be readjusted.
From left to right: partway through the repairs. Leaving Quillón afterwards with a working bike. Backroads bridge. The gravel section. Random wall art I passed in Chillán.
And in about an hour, it's all done! I was half-expecting this to take overnight, or be a serious delay, but I think it set me back less than two hours total so I'm feeling very fortunate. The new pedals are so good I should have put them on weeks ago. And I have 50% more gears! Except that they're lower than my current range, so I don't need them, and they're not balanced, so I might not be able to use them.
The rest of the trip is uneventful. I picked up some empanadas from a roadside shop that makes and sells them; they were excellent - and both had a single olive with a stone, just like the one that broke my tooth in Puerto Varas. The route had a gravel section, some creative side roads, some very nice bike paths in Chillán. I got there about 1830, so it's not even late.
So a very understated end to what started very badly. I’m glad it got resolved quickly and so relatively easily - but I’ve had enough drama, I’d like the rest of the trip to be a bit more low-key.
