What did I do wrong? While driving car w/ bike on hitch rack- chain burst, bent small chain ring, and more. Bike feels totaled
I drove out to a spot for a ride. The ride went well. After, I loaded the bike onto my car’s rack. I locked my bike to the bike-rack so I could go inside a business to eat and not worry.
It was dark when I came back out, but I walked past the back of the car and everything looked fine to me. (I have a simple hitch rack where you could place the top tube on the grooved bar and use two simple straps to keep it tight. I have driven 50+ trips with no issues or worries in the past.)
I got in the car and started driving home. Note: On the highway, you can see the bike in the rear view mirror during the daylight but not quite as clear at night. I was listening to the music but suddenly I heard noises and freaked out —
Now, because I was so stunned and scared, my recall is unfortunately a bit of a blur. For example: I honestly can’t recall if I heard noises first or decided I couldn’t see it like normal but I absolutely panicked. (I have OCD so I’m also constantly rechecking and worried. my anxiety shot off the charts as I decided I needed to pull over immediately on the highway to investigate the bike.) —-
I got out and went to the back. The chain had exploded off and the small chain ring is bent backwards. The back tire was flat and otherwise mangled. There’s other damage and I’ll just share photos.
I am having trouble understanding what I possibly did wrong. I feel so stupid that I can’t seem to piece together how this could have happened or recall the traumatic moment (I was also scared I caused the car or rack damage in that moment and it was not my own car.) I blame myself and I’m devastated, but what’s worse than anything is I don’t know what I did wrong. And with OCD, that’s going to be miserable. I’m not sure if I will trust using the rack (if I can even afford to replace my bike any time soon.)
Does anyone have idea what caused this? If I can feel like I know how to avoid it in the future it will make me feel significantly better even if I made an embarrassing mistake. Please help me!