Problems with cold weather riding

Today I went riding solo. My buddy Jimmy was busy with work, something about invoicing for his business. We usually go on Saturday morning, but it was really windy and rainy.

I set out at 5 AM because I have a busy day, including going to church. So I figured I would get an early start to get a good ride in.

Today was good. I tried out my lights with great success. It is really cool riding in the dark. A helmet light would be a good future addition, so that I can look around corners before my bike turns around.

I came across a 'puddle' measuring about 5 feet across and about 40 feet long and fairly deep. it had a thin layer of ice on top that I easily broke through. I think that is where my problems started...

It was going great until my derailleur was vibrating in a really weird way. My front derailleur was not going to the granny gear because it was choked up with a combination of mud, leaves and sticks. But, the rear derailleur was doing something I never experienced before.

I figured something was wrong with a spring or something, because the rear derailleur would not get out of the large gear. I looked at it (in the dark) and could not figure it out. So I headed home by road back to the van.

I drove home and pulled the bike into the garage and found out that the lower cog on the rear derailleur had seized up and would not turn. It was full of FROZEN mud and would not budge unless i removed all of the frozen mud with a screwdriver.

At least I got in a good 1.5 hours anyway. It is a pity that I couldn't continue. Today I was going to take some pictures of nice scenery, including a few waterfalls that are in our area.