Catastrophic Failure

Ty, Andrew, Matt, Dennis and TC all showed up for a ride at Paris last night. It was cold last night but once we were pedaling up the mountain it wasn’t so bad.

The night was going as it usually would with TC in the lead flying all over the trail. We did our normal route that hits all of the trails. Apparently my favorite downhill has it in for me this winter. Last time we rode this down hill I had to case it out in the weeds to avoid killing Dennis.

This time was a new experience for me. I was cruising down Brissy having a blast when all of the sudded my front brake lever hit my fingers that were wrapped around the grip. I had some old brake pads on the bike, so I figured I had worn them useless. I pulled the lever with all of my fingers out of the way and the lever easily went flush to the grip. Oh $%*&! That can’t be good. I still had a back brake so I continued down the trail. Then I could taste something metallic in my mouth. I had the fleeting thought that something really bad had happened.

Once I made it to the bottom, I pulled out my alternate light and took a look at the brake. The main fastener that connects the hose to the reservoir by the brake lever had come completely off. Therefore my fluid had spilled all over the bike and forest. Not good at all.

I have been running Hayes 9 hydraulic brakes for almost three years now. This is the first time I have had any problem out of the normal realm of problems.

I made my way up the road back with the group and we took it back to the car via Sulphur Springs.

Ty had a fire kicking and had ordered pizza. Whiskey, Beer and pizza is a good way to take your mind off of catastrophic brake failure.

Peace.