As I was cycling in the morning, my chain broke, caught the derailleur, and tore it off the frame. In essence, my 21-speed mountain bike became a 1-gear bike. I shortened the chain so that it would sit on the large chain ring in the front and the small gear on the back (this gear set-up is used for flat and fast terrain and really not for climbing hills...which I had to do.) Eric named my bike "One-Gear."
I cycled across Ivory Coast into Ghana with the one gear. I had a chance meeting with a group of American cyclists just as they left Accra's airport. Their leader sold me a new derailleur at cost.
The bottom picture shows Eric's major problem. His wheel buckled and thus had to walk the bike to the next village. A local metal worker rebuilt his rim. I named his bike "Broken-Wheels."
