MacGyver's Got Nothin' On Me!

The first 3/4 mile, or so, of my ride home is my least favorite part of my commute.  I have to ride on Holly Street, with drivers who are, apparently, dyslexic (the speed limit is 35, not 53, dammit).  Plus, I occasionally have to deal with an 18-wheeler whose driver apparently doesn't like me. (It couldn't be the bike.  Every truck driver loves cyclists.)

So, I tend to go as fast as I can until I get to 38th Avenue, where I turn left and get onto the less-traveled neighborhood streets.  That's what I was doing, this afternoon, when I crossed under I-70 and got stopped at the red light.  As I took off, on the green, I heard something rubbing on the rear tire of the bike.

"What now?" I thought, as I pulled over to the side of the road.  After a few seconds of inspecting the bike, I saw what the problem was.  The P-Clamp holding the lower leg of the rack, on the drive side, had broken, and the clamp on the other side was about halfway to being broken.

I looked around on the road for a piece of wire, or twine, or anything I could use to lash the remains of the clamp to the seat stay.  I was really not wanting to have to turn around and ride the 3/10ths of a mile back to the lab in order to rig something up.

Just as I was about to give up and do just that, my eye fell upon the velcro pants-cuff strap I keep on the bike frame...just in case I need it.  Today, I did, indeed, need it.

After a couple of tries, I figured out how to secure the rack leg:

Ahhh, now that top picture makes more sense!

I rode a pretty slow, pretty careful commute home, hoping to not only get home without knocking my "repair" loose, but also hoping that the other P-Clamp wouldn't snap as I was riding along.  I kept my eyes open for something I could use to fix the other leg, if it did break, and eventually picked up a discarded shoe lace (just in case).

I got home without any further excitement, mulling things over as I rode.  This is the straw that drove the final nail into the coffin of the camel with a broken back, as far as the Raleigh is concerned. 

The Raleigh is a great bike, but it's not a great commuter.  I have never liked using clamps to attach anything to a bike, especially a rack which carries a goodly amount of weight.  I'll strip it down and use the parts to rebuild the SOMA frame, which does have rack eyelets.

Anybody interested in a Raleigh XXIX frame and fork?  I figure $150.00, shipped within the Lower 48.

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