Swapping the chain every 1,000 miles is probably the smart thing to do instead of waiting for the chain to wear and damage the cassette. Going through a handful of chains every year is cheaper than going through a cassette or two every season.
I popped the wheels off the bike last night, and broke the old chain, then took the opportunity to clean the jockey wheels and the other formerly difficult to access parts.
I wasn't in the zen bike mechanic mode and rushed joining the new Shimano chain. I am spoiled from the Wipperman Connex link, and haven't used the magic chain tool for a couple of years. I gave one turn too many to the tool and ended up with a tight link. Shoot. I loosened it up, but I'm paranoid about breaking a chain out in the middle of nowhere, so I broke the chain again, and carefully pushed the second pin through in a new link. The pin ended up off axis and bent the link. Argggh. I only had the one chain on hand so called it a night.
This morning I popped into MRC in Chardon and grabbed a couple of chains. I got home and even read the instructions for installing it. In full zen mode, I cut the chain to length, and installed it. No problems! It was a relief to get the bike working well again.
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