Marathon Crash Ride Fail!

If you roll on two wheels and consider yourself an Angeleno, getting up early to do the Marathon Crash Ride (or Race when it comes back) is a rite of passage.

IMG_20150315_062858Of course, I say this having never done one before, but it was about time to sneak out of the house without waking the family up to give it a go.

I started from Westwood because I wanted to catch the marathon itself and have time to reach the west valley for a one year old birthday party, like everyone else.

Since it wasn’t a race, I rolled out on my cross bike because you can never trust a few thousand people to point out potholes while the sun is down. This was supposed to be the start of an epic tale, but it became an epic fail(that rhyme was too good to pass up).

#marathoncrashride #westwood#wolfpackhustle #lamarathon #bikela

A video posted by ciclavalley (@ciclavalley) on

Rolling through West Hollywood switching into the big ring, my chain dropped but did a reverse wrap around that I had never encountered. I’ve stupidly tried to pedal through it before, but after you’ve done that once, you’ll never do it again. Unfortunately, my chain was bent beyond riding and I was five miles out from my car.wehoSide

With little options at 5am, I had no choice but to pedal back by constantly spinning a quarter of a rotation keeping the faulty joint away from my cassette.

Still wanting to be part of the experience, I grabbed my GoPro and cellie to get as much multimedia coverage as possible.

The group was what you expected, a mixture of serious roadies, the fixed gear crew and regular enthusiasts wanting to share the streets together. It looks a little like a Ciclavia, except you’re riding a little faster and there are no businesses open.

What amazes you is how long it went on for. I recorded about fifteen minutes of footage thinking it was over only to see another wave pass! I tried counting, but I lost track after three.

So with time to kill, the world gets another CiclaValley post. My loss, your gain.