So what was that rattling from the rear wheel? Stopped a couple times to try and figure it out; definitely coming from the disc brake. A bit of extra friction but I need the workout right? And it wasn’t me holding us back on Kings; Kevin’s knee is still an issue.

But we kept on moving on, thankfully dressed reasonably well for a wet cold day (38 degrees on Skyline).

It wasn’t until descending 84 that things went seriously south. Heard (and felt) a loud bang from the rear of my bike, the kind of sound you’d expect if your frame cracked in half. But they wasn’t it. Looking over the bike I discovered the rear brake pads were completely missing. But the pin that holds them in place was still there!

Nothing we could do about it but keep on heading down the hill. You know, a wet descent, one of those occasions where the rules about primarily using the front brake don’t apply because you could lose traction in a corner and lock up the wheel.

But this was my time to prove fear of front brakes is unfounded; we descended 84 probably faster than 80% of our customers, me using just a front brake, on a wet road.

Kids, don’t try this at home. 🙂