You know you're riding an old bike when...

You go out for a ride and your rear wheel slips out of alignment, and you stop at the first farm you come to and borrow a Crescent wrench to fix it! Nutted axles are old school. You know you're riding that old bike in Iowa when the guy you borrow the wrench from says, "I have a dozen of these, just keep it." That happened to me while riding my 70s Puch single speed yesterday. I went out of town East along the U.P. tracks and turned South, into the wind, at U. Avenue. About 4 miles south of 30 my chain loosened up and bent over one of the teeth on my cog. Broke it off and hoped to soft pedal home but the problem got worse over the next mile or so. This wheel has not slipped in the time and miles I have ridden this bike, so I foolishly trusted it for another ride. So I stopped at the first farm with signs of life and asked to borrow a wrench. Owen Hunter, a cool guy who was playing 50Cent while working on his Morton building, just gives me a wrench to take with me! (One good reason to ride gravel, the people are usually nice.) After tightening the chain line up I rolled off about 6 more miles coming back through Ledges. I rode the hill by Camp Hantessa and made it all the way to the Boone Speedway and "BAM!" the chain broke with a nasty twist to the links. No way I could see to Mc Gyver it so I hoofed it across 30 and home. Two things I took from this ride. One, if your bike is almost as old as you, plan to have a wrench on every ride. One is all you need with these old bikes. Two, don't count on the kindness of strangers, but be thankful for it when you encounter it! Now to pay it forward! Later!