rain, rain and more rain

Looks as if it's going to be an unproductive weekend. It's been raining pretty steadily since Thurs. I had road rides planned for both Thurs and Fri but ended up having to cancel both. I did get out for a run downtown Kingsport during a break in the rain. I didn't have much of a route I just wandered around hitting streets that I had never been down before. I was kinda searching out a good route for a CRAWL, Kingsport style. I found what seemed like a good route, one that saw little traffic and a few good stops for re-hydrating. It is getting close to that time of year and we're looking to expand the CRAWL to Bristol and Kingsport for a little of variety.
I try not to run 2 days in a row since I really only have 1 good pair of running shoes. They say you need a day or two to allow the soles to return to their full squishyness before running on them again so Friday I did some yoga with the intent of hitting the elliptical trainer at work. As I crested the hill on my way to work and my plant came into view I knew that wasn't going to happen. The "big blue flame" was roaring and we ended up being outside all night working in the rain. Tonight seems as if it will be a little quieter so I may be able to sneak in a workout.
Last Friday I did manage to get in a road ride with a group of guys I recently met. They've got a pretty good route that takes me into some un-charted territory I've been wanting to explore for a while. While the group does tend to get a little broken up due to the rather large range of riding ability they are all very friendly and fun to ride with. It's not unusual to see the pack get scattered and broken up and I hate to take off and leave anyone so I usually find my self moving from the front to the rear all throughout the ride making sure no one has gotten lost. Sometimes I find myself alone with the riders in front and behind me just specks on the road. Last Friday as we were heading back to the starting point I heard a loud "PING" saw something fly out from my drivetrain and felt everything lock up. I immediately stopped pedaling and pulled over for fear of doing more damage that was already done. My chain was broken but still intact via one side of a link. My front derailleur was twisted, bent and not looking good. After several minutes of assessing the situation and fighting a SRAM quick link which supposedly will work with a Shimano chain I gave up put the chain back together minus one link and rode home with only 4 gears left. I had plans to take my road bike to the shop for a new drivetrain and cables as mine were still the original from the factory three years ago. I know your supposed to change things out more frequently than that but everything was running good and road bike parts can be very expensive.
After getting some new shiny bits, a front derailleur adjustment, and $175 later she running as good as new. I really need to learn to maintain my road ride a little better so I can spend my money on new parts vs. labor cost. The weather forecast is in my favor this week, rain while I'm working and sunny skies when I'm off so you shouldn't hear too many complaints from me.