I goofed around most of the day so about 6:30 I decided to go for a covert ride from the house and pedal some of the double track close by. I took the NRS since it has a computer and both wheels were already assembled. Some sweet downhill double track jumping. One place I was riding had a field along the double track and I counted 7 deer blasting through the corn rows - very cool seeing them bounce through the corn. At mile 10 I was flying down some hard pack dirt along some power lines, bouncing the suspension and jumping over little erosion gulleys when KAPOW! The derailleur hanger broke. Thanks to Phil, B-Rad, Chris, and Obie for the times I've witnessed each one of them fix a broken chain and or set up a single speed to limp out.
Of course the extra hanger I had in my pack was for the Santa Cruz (the extra NRS hanger was back at the house, in the trunk of my car). Luckily I did have my chain tool with me and a SRAM quick link on my chain. I made it a single speed and was able to ride back the 3 miles to the house. It worked fine on the road but when I hit the riverside trail the suspension kicked the chain out of gear, otherwise it was a good little 13 mile ride. My 1 speed:
