Road Cycling - I know when to say when--Bad Ride Day

I was getting ready to go for a ride today, just like I do all other days, and the trouble started before I even saddled up. I could not find my Izumi shorts! After being informed by the woman that they were not clean, (I have 4 pairs!), I resorted to putting on a pair of old, (cheap, one pad kind) shorts. I knew it just wouldn't be the same. I carried on but realized I forgot to freeze a couple water bottles! Well, I put some "cold" water in the bottles and headed off. Riding with my uncomfortable shorts with semi-warm water I was 2 miles in to my ride when I cam to a stop light. Not many cars around so I unclippe the left foot slowly and came to a stop. SPLAT! I somehow got leaned to far to the right and took a fall to that side. No problem, it happens, I get up and keep going. .5 miles later I feel my rear tire is really riding hard. Could it be? YEP! My first flat tire! I do have a patch kit and a pump but I look at the tire and it's got a huge thorn in it! I decide to walk it back to a LBS. After 1 "special" $12 tube and a straightening of my shifter bracket thing, (to many clipped in falls to the right I guess) I was out of there. I decided now because of time I would shorten my ride so I headed out in a different direction. All of sudden I feel a snag and hear a rip. My shorts ripped! Somehow some plastic around the nose of my seat got a bur on it and caught my shorts! I knew when to call it quits, Somebody was telling me that today is not the day to ride. I grudgingly rode home. Does this happen to everybody once in a while? I have almost 1000 miles on the bike.

happens to all of us, its called life! Some days we should just stay in bed :) However i bet you can remember at least 2-3 good rides you have had, and the fun you had on them. the trick is to remember the good days!

-Ross

I hate the days that my legs feel like someone tied bricks to my feet. Another dislike is finding out that I am out of CO2 cartridges right as I am leaving.

That kind of stuff never happens to me. Yeah, right. It happens quite a bit. Certain things will happen less and less. For example, clip-related tumbles will become few and far between. BTW, if your shifter is out of line at the bracket, put your bike down on soft ground or grass with out-of-line shifter on the down side. Hold the shifter down (lightly!) with your foot and pull up with your handle bars until both shifters are parallel. Also carry a couple of tubes with you in addition to the patch kit (I've had a three-puncture ride and still came home smiling). Learn to laugh at the cosmic jokes.

Anyway, aren't you happy that the shorts that ripped are the rejects and not one of the Pearls?

Rich

Someone's telling you to go home and just have some brew...

Hmm,, you are right about the shorts,,,REALLY GLAD it wasn't the $100 shorts. Sounds stupid to pay that much for shorts,,,but wow,,,you really miss them when you don't have them.

Yep.Those days when everybody runs the stop signs with you in the middle.Or u hit all the lights.Or your water bottle has a bleach or soap taste.

Yesterday was like that for me...

I left the house without my helmet, had to turn around and backtrack a few km to get it. I rode like crap for about an hour. Then near the end of the ride some dufus in a car almost clips me with his right-side mirror.

By the time I get my hand up to show him how to count to one, a pick-up truck is between us. The p/u driver thinks I'm fingering *him* and hits the brakes but he figures it out (passenger probably saw what had happened) before getting ont and pounding me...

I've been mostly lucky, I guess. All my mishaps seem to happen closer to the end of the ride more than at the beginning.

A few words:

Wash your own laundry- that way, you're not depending on "the woman" when she may be too busy to get the shorts cleaned.

Put out your clothes the night before- if you wait until the day of, you could end up wasting precious time running around looking for what you wanted to wear, or not find the clothing at all.

Always carry some basic repair stuff- at the very least, a pump, a patch kit, and a spare tube. You can get a seat bag and keep all your extras in there and attach your pump to the frame so that you don't have to physically carry it on your person.

Put out everything you'll need the night before, and do a mental checklist of all the things you need make sure you have for your ride the next day. I put everything I'll need on the couch the night before my ride, and if I do something like freeze water, I put a note on the top of the pile reminding me to get the water bottles from the freezer. If I'm charging my cell phone, I'll put a note on the pile reminding me to pick up my cell phone, or I'll put my shoes right next to where my cellphone is charging so I can see it as I put my shoes on.

I do a lot of my rides at 4:30AM, so when I get up at 3:55AM, I'm not thinking at 100%- I'm not even fully awake until I get outside and feel the air hitting my face! So I have to do things like this so that I don't leave things behind and get screwed in the process.

Still, that stuff with the ripped shorts and all, that's unavoidable. That's a mess, man! :eek:

Unsolicited advice- sorry about that, but just in case you are looking for a different way of doing things as a result of this experience....

Good luck with future rides!

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
Put out everything you'll need the night before, and do a mental checklist of all the things you need make sure you have for your ride the next day.

That's great advice, Koffee.

I generally do the same. My mind doesn't get to the point where I can make good decisions very early in the morning until I'm up for about an hour! I sleep better knowing that all is ready for me, and I'm not forgetting anything critical! :)

Some days you're the bug. Some days you're the windshield. Either one isn't fun.

The worst experiences make the best stories.

Haa Haa!!!

Just kidding. Sh!+ happens. Take a day off and drink a beer.

Wash your own laundry- that way, you're not depending on "the woman" when she may be too busy to get the shorts cleaned.

LOL -- really!!

You're right some days you just shouldn't ride. I picked my bike up from LBS after routine service and, after few minutes convincing my wife I'd only be gone a couple of hours (less than popular on a sunny weekend) decided to drive out of town to avoid traffic and ride through the country. Parked up near the top of a hill in a parking spot and got the bike down. In the process managed to cover my shorts in oil and scrape the chain across my left shin. Then stripped down to my cycling gear and hopped on board. Found that the bike had been left in the highest possible gear and was completely unable to turn the pedals going up hill. I got off, lifted the back wheel and turned the pedal and shifted down a few cogs. Jumped back on and set off again. This time managed a couple of turns of the pedal and then fell off sideways ripping open my elbow and badly bruising my shin. Jumped up quickly checking that there wasn't an audience (phew - no-one in sight) only to find the back wheel was bent at right angles. So back to LBS for new wheel. Now it's a week later, the rim had to be ordered from Giant in Holland (no stock kept in UK believe it or not) and I'm still without the bike. Managed a few miles on the mountain bike but am really missing the road bike.

The bike has been in the shop for all but an hour of the last three weeks and I managed 15 yards in that time! My wife thinks I should give up and do something less strenuous (and expensive). I'm starting to think she's right!

Wash your own laundry- that way, you're not depending on "the woman" when she may be too busy to get the shorts cleaned.

I wash a lot of the laundry in my household. I usto think my wife was realy picky about the way her bras where laundered untill I got real bike clothing. Now I want no one touching my cycling cloths! I'm afraid they will ruin them or leave a soap residue in them for my next 30 mile ride, and I just thought she was picky!;)

Originally posted by princebaal
Does this happen to everybody once in a while? I have almost 1000 miles on the bike.

I have over 6,000 on my current bike and I have had several of those days. The blessing is that for each day like that, I have had 50 or 75 that were just awesome! The water stayed cold, no glass to dodge, all the driver's were courteous, the lights were all green, no head winds, and all the dogs were friendly!

Today, I popped two spokes, had a flat, got snubbed by too many other cyclists, but I was still out in the open air, riding my bike, and enjoying life!

Frank Sinatra used to say he felt sorry for people who didn't drink because when they got up in the morning, that was the best they were going to feel all day. My philosophy includes feeling sorry for people who don't cycle because they will never enjoy the freedom, the exhilaration, the absolute joy of cycling, the crappy days included!

I had two "Bad Ride Days" in a one week period.

The first ride, I was traveling pretty fast when I hit a mud patch on the path and went down pretty hard. I don't even remember the fall, I just remember being on the ground. I was in a lot of pain and covered in mud. Thank goodness there was a creek next to the path. I learned what it was like when our ancestors had to wash their clothes in a creek or river. I was 25 miles away from home and had a bump on my hip the size of a softball, but somehow I managed to pedal home.

Six days later, I was 45 miles away from home when I got my first flat in over five years. No problem, I had an extra tube. I put the tube in and found that there was a huge tear at the base of the valve. Not to worry, I had some patches to fix the flat tube. Unfortunately, the self-adhesive patches wouldn't stick. Thank goodness I had my cell phone and got a hold of someone, but couldn't figure out how to explain where I was because I was never in that part of town before. I had to walk 4 miles in my bike shoes just to find a place that I could give directions to have that person pick me up. Later I found out that I was in gang territory. That explains all those cars I saw that were jam-pack full of teenage boys.

Now I carry two new tubes, a glue patch kit and a map with me. I also replaced the tires.

This all makes me feels so much better! I now feel thankful I was not in gang territory and not covered in mud, etc. . . I didn't ride today because I still fear that my next trip will be again cursed, but after reading all this, I might get back on with a little more confidence. Thanks!

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
I've been mostly lucky, I guess. All my mishaps seem to happen closer to the end of the ride more than at the beginning.



Woof - not me.. my last mishap was the sudden loss of two spokes at the APEX of my 30 mile route on a day I thought... 'ah I dont really HAVE to have a cell phone' (it wasn't charged ha)

My ride is from home, to a loop around a lake with a trail that goes up about 7.5 miles and back. I start the lake at just about exactly equadistant to the trail head (foot?). I threw the spokes at the TOP of the trail. ;) Couldn't have been any urther away.

Rode home with ZERO brake on the back wheel... doing about 9 mph. ;)

cAPS

Originally posted by TrekRider
Frank Sinatra used to say he felt sorry for people who didn't drink because when they got up in the morning, that was the best they were going to feel all day. My philosophy includes feeling sorry for people who don't cycle because they will never enjoy the freedom, the exhilaration, the absolute joy of cycling, the crappy days included!

Well said TrekRider.

I feel naked when I discover I've forgotten something. Don't think I've ever left without my helmet, but I've left my frame pump at home a few times (now I don't take it off). I'm kind of with Koffee and make sure to prepare for the ride. Once I actually left without my gloves, a bad ride day for sure.

edit: and it does not take too much space to carry a spare tube in case of a (knock on wood) puncture.

Yep, I've had my share of bad days and I haven't been riding too long. Lets just say I'll keep the bad days to myself until I get smart enough to have some better bad days worth posting...lol :D

Damn woman. She's never on top of things.

I've had one of those days.. I cant remember all the things that happen, but that usually happens with me in general on some days, From the moment i get up i can usually start to tell if its gonna be a good day or a bad day.. it just allways works out that way.. anyways on that last day, I got stung by a bee on the trip.. it was in the lower thigh almost directly behind the knee... yep the BEST place to be stung becuase it MOVES the most when your pedaling.. it relaly hurts every single time you up pedal.. that sucked pretty bad.. but i was already on my way home so there was nothing i could do..