Fifty Plus (50+) - Have you ever given up and called someone to come get you?

I was thinking about it again today, as I was a long way from home, back off the beaten path on one of those long Rails-To-Trails, where cars and pickup trucks aren't allowed. Which probably wouldn't have mattered anyway, as I didn't really know where the hell I was in relation to the highway system. :eek:

I've been either lucky or hard headed. I've had nasty flats, with tires and tubes unrepairable. I've elected to walk miles back instead of calling someone. But I wonder how long it will be until I finally need to call someone to come rescue me. :notamused:

Has it ever happened to you? What was the breakdown? Could it have been avoided with simple parts or tools on board? :D

It was a hot July day in Las Vegas. I didn't get as early a start as I should have. I went trailblazing on my MTB and ended up with two miles of soft dirt and a 600 foot climb in 2.5 miles to get to Boulder City. What the ride didn't take out of me, the heat did. I chickened out and called my wife. I'm so ashamed........not really. I was beat.

You mean call the wife who drives our official "sag-mobile"?? No, I wouldn't do anything like that. Nope. Never. After all, bciycling is supposed to be fun!! :)

I have a couple of times. The most recent one, my rear derailleur sheared off and i was about 35 miles from my car. Attempts to turn the bike into a single gear didn't work. Well it did, but in such a way that my chain seized up about every half mile. I rode/limped to the nearest hamlet - about 3 miles- and calculated that I would not get home until well past midnight. My wife was out of the country and my 13 year old daughter was returning home around dinner time. I found a car service in the yellow book and payed a guy with a Town Car (giant trunk) to drive me back to my car.

Bonked at 90 miles into a century ride a couple of years ago and had to be hauled in on the SAG wagon. Could not have turned the cranks even another 90 degrees. Oh... the shame:eek:

Other than that, no.

Closest call was a broken spoke on a solo ride about 26 miles out and on the other side of the mountain. Limped back to the vehicle at a rather sedate pace but made it.

Only once. I broke a spoke on an old poorly maintained wheel. It was too destroyed to ride. I came close another time when I shredded a sidewall 20 miles from my car. Another biker came up and asked if I needed help. I showed him the problem and he said "Come on over, I live in the second house on the left". He gave me a tire and a tube and I finished a beautiful ride. When I got back to the car, I took the tire and tube off, drove back to his house and returned them with my thanks. Ever since then, I always offer help to a rider in need.

Yeah, but I was in the middle of the Baja desert with broken ribs. Bonked, crashed, bad weather, too dark, lost a cleat, catastrophic equipment failure -- all perfectly legit reasons to call for a ride with no shame at all. The only time you should hang your head is if it was a simple mechanical and you forgot to bring a multi-tool or a tube.

Besides accidents or breakdowns, I keep wondering if one day I'm going to discover age has sneaked up on me, and I won't be able to get myself back. I love bicycling in part because of all the neat things I get to see. I'm thinking that one day, I'm going to go a little too far before I decide to turn around and start heading back.

Yeah, but I was in the middle of the Baja desert with broken ribs. Bonked, crashed, bad weather, too dark, lost a cleat, catastrophic equipment failure -- all perfectly legit reasons to call for a ride with no shame at all. The only time you should hang your head is if it was a simple mechanical and you forgot to bring a multi-tool or a tube.

Is this another one of the "macho" things I missed out somewhere in my upbringing.

I need someone to keep track of these events so I don't screw up again.

I wouldn't want to bring "shame" on the male psyche. :)

This summer at around 75 miles into an 85 miler, when it was just too hot to go on. I watch my HRM, and when my heart rate keeps going up while speed is going down, I swallow my pride and call. Heat exhaustion isn't fun.

A few years ago I was coming off of several days of being very sick but I was getting cabin fever over the inability to get out on the bike. I checked out my ride list , found what I wanted..........about a 15 mile ride that was essentially flat or downhill all the way, told my son where to come get me and made the ride.

I'm not embarrased at all, a ride is a ride is a ride.

I was on tour once many years ago and cut a tire so badly on a rock that I couldn't go further. I didn't have a tire boot, and I did not know about the trick of using a dollar bill as a tire boot. I hitched a ride to the next town, which was way too small to have a bike shop (or much of anything else). I found a forest ranger who let me have the tire off his own personal bicycle. A couple days later, I reached a town w/a bike shop, bought him a new tire and mailed it to him.

I got bailed by a car twice. Thirty years ago I got a late start with a friend on a 60 miler to another friend's parents' house. It started to get dark, and we didn't have lights. The other time was 21 years ago when my tandem's headset just gave up while on a 30-day tour. We were about 20 miles from Kamloops and a very nice lawyer who was the defense portion of a traveling court show gave us a lift into town and lodging. The only bike shop in town fixed us up quite nicely the next morning and off we went. That headset is just now being replaced, along with the forks.

I might have had to use a sag on a double-century 25 years ago when my single-speed bike had a rear wheel failure. Lucky for me a friend was too sick to go on after lunch, so he gave me his bike to finish on and he took mine on the sag bus.

I feel pretty lucky to have not needed any bailing out over the past two decades (knuckles to head). I don't think there is much more than luck involved. I continue to do the same things that got me stuck years ago, it just keeps working out.

While cleaning out a foreclosed house in '95, I scored a tattered, yet functional mid 80's Specialized Expedition. The sidewalls were pretty scary looking. They were all frayed and stuff. First road bike I ever had. I didn't know at the time that I loved that bike. Nothing I've ridden since has been the same. I gave that bike to my dad; how can I subtly/overtly let him know I want it back?

Anyway, I lubed the cables to get it shifting properly and immediately rode it 30 miles, frayed tires, torn seat, sketchy brakes and all. That ride gave me enough confidence in my ability to over extend myself later.

Jumped on the bike again for my second voyage (after a tune-up and some new tires) and mentally calculated a 50 mile loop that started and stopped at my front door.

The loop was more like a large oval that was flat at the bottom. The flat part was the last leg home and by the time I reached that point, several hours had gone by and a hefty headwind had picked up.

40 miles in, hot summer day, 20 mph head wind, Second time ever riding on the road. I was done.

So yeah, it was a breakdown. Me.

Now days something really weird would have to happen for me to call my wife to be picked up because there are buses that run all over the island and they all have bike racks so I can pretty easily bail if I need to. Before the buses got the bike racks I did have to a few times when something unfixable happened to the bike (frame broke for example). I only bailed once because I wasn't feeling well. I was doing a self-supported century around the island and started feeling real bad around mile 60. Turns out I had contracted the flu and was running a high fever. I felt just fine when I had started the ride.

Only call for a Sag Wagon was on a nice winters day and I went up on the hills to see how deep the snow was. Just as I got to the top of the first hill- I broke the chain. Temp below freezing and a long walk back. I phoned the wife and I coasted down to the nearest town for her to pick me up.

I was really annoyed as I had arranged for her to meet me at a cafe and she got there before I did. No pie that morning as she wanted to get home.

174107 174108 174109

Got a few pics though but it was cold.

I started out on a 100 mile ride around a lake. Thinking their would be plenty of places to stop for water. Any i rode until 9.30 pm when I needed the sherriff to take me back to the car 25 miles short. If I would have had any kind of bicycle light i would have been ok but as it were the light i had rubberbanded to the stem shown more up than on the ground.

I've made the call once, when I first started road riding and got lost with the sun going down and no blinkies.

There have several other times I wanted to call but didn't out of stupidity.

I popped a spoke 20 miles from home in the boonies and did call home, but my wife had no idea where I was (this was before IPhones) so I hobbled carefully back home.

That's it.

Three times. The first was when a pizza delivery guy rode me into a ditch breaking my derailleur off. The other two times were due to chain failure, both within three miles of home. Until I had my ankle fused last December I could not have walked a mile in sneakers let alone bike shoes.

Yes and it makes me grouchy.

I've had stuff break or mechanical problems that I couldn't figure out how to fix on the road. I've gotten so over-cooked that I was dizzy and light headed and didn't think that it was smart to continue. I've even ended a couple of rides in the back of an ambulance with broken bones.

There's always new things to learn. After breaking the seat binder bolt a couple of times I started carrying a spare on our tandem. The next time, however, the whole seat clamp broke so I started carrying one of them. Rider physical issues are harder to plan for and, one of the symptoms or heat sickness is impared judgement. There's a lot of wisdom in knowing when to soldier on and when to cut your losses.

Only happened to me once when the drive side chain stay on my carbon bike snapped, tearing off the rear dérailleur (actually sheared it in half) and knocking out about half the spokes on the rear wheel. I was 14 miles from home. I toyed with throwing the bike over the guardrail and walking home..I was more than mildly annoyed, but thought better of it and called for my wife to come get me.

Probably wasn't the smartest thing I ever did, but even on my last face plant from hitting a dog broadside I rode home. I realized it was a bad idea as I was pulling into the driveway and couldn't remember how I got there.

When I started back, at 45 and a bit overweight, I lived in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley just north of LA. For those unfamiliar, it is a "flat" 10mi x 15 mi area. I say flat in the same respect that a vertical sheet of glass in your window is flat. The valley slopes from 1400 ft elevation in the Northeast corner at Sylmar where I lived, to about 600 ft along the southern edge. I could easily get to any where in the Valley from home. Getting home I would usually rely on a rack equipped bus, which was hit and miss since at that time the MTA only equipped about 20% with racks. As I got stronger I relied on the rather unreliable MTA less and less.

I'll walk if it isn't going to take more than an hour or two. A few cases where I called for a ride:

Broken rear derailleur.
Broken spoke, wheel wouldn't clear frame
Broken chain.
Forgot to get pump off beater bike.
Badly sliced tire.
More flats than CO2.

The one case where I was just too lazy to ride (in one gear) was a broken rear shifter cable.

Great use of GPS. You give your rescuer your GPS co-ordinates and they can pinpoint your location in seconds and figure out the best way to get there on Google maps.

Once just a few weeks ago with a broken chain, again a few years ago on Christmas morning, 39° and got a flat, fell and broke a cleat off. Cold, bruised and frustrated I made the call. And one other time I got 3 flats the same day in 105°...I decided I'd had enough "fun" for one day.

If there was someone to call, I would have done so today...

Just picked up the new bike from the LBS after having its warranty tune up done. Made the mistake of not doing a test ride yesterday, before this mornings ride...

The front brakes were rubbing, the one side pad had the rear of the pad rubbing on the rim. The front fender was rubbing on the tire. I could hear the rubbing/sqeaking soon after I first started, but it took about a mile and a half before I figured out where it was coming from. Stopped on the side of the road and fixed the brakes, only pushed the fender into what I thought was a correct position. Everything was fine for another half mile, but the rubbing started again. This time it was just the fender. I stopped and used the wrench to loosen the one stay and pulled it to keep the fender off the tire. That seemed to do the trick for another 3-4 miles, but a rubbing sound came back...

At about that point, my shoe lace, which I hadn't noticed had come loose, got tangled in the chain/sprocket. Since that is the side foot I unclip when I stop, I fell over when I came to a stop and couldn't disengage....

At that point I just road home...

Not a good ride today...

I have. When I haven't been riding and am out of shape, and get tired, and am facing a long ride with a headwind to get home, I call my wife. She loves to come rescue me. I usually know when it's a possibility and make sure beforehand that she'll be available, and that it won't inconvenience her.

Once when I was young a foolish I got a flat and didn't have the means to fix it. I held the wheel in my hand and stuck my thumb out. A bicyclist pulled over. He had a pickup truck. I threw my bike in the back and he took me right to my door! A road angel.

I don't remember ever calling someone to come and get me but I certainly didn't hesitate to sag in from GOBA one day this year. After 40 miles of hills, 100+ heat index and 12 remaining miles with 7 more hills they didn't have to ask me twice if I wanted to sag to the finish. A shower and a cold beer sounded much more inviting than those last few miles:)

A few times. A couple of the more notable: I flatted about 25 miles into a 60-mile out and back, and the effin' Conti Gatorskin tire was so tight I broke both of my tire levers trying to get it off the rim. Another time, about 65 miles into a 80-miler, I hadn't been keeping up on my eating and drinking, bonked so hard I couldn't see straight, stopped at a country store, got some food and Mtn Dew, and was still pretty well incapacitated. Both times made me thankful that God made cell phones.

'Course, if either had been a "real" ride (where I'd paid an entry fee and had some stake in finishing), I'd have sucked it up and soldiered on. ;-)

SP
Bend, OR

hi,
I was having a really good day made it to about the 18 mile mark and thought I wonder if I could make it all the way to that NC Border, thought it was a few miles from my current postion. About an hour later made it to the turn around and started back, It was becoming alittle warmer and I needed more fluids, so I stopped at a Gas Station/ grocery store and bought 1/2 gallon of Gator Aide Chugged it down and off I went,
About 1 hour later I noticed I was starting to feel a little more fatigue than normal and my legs were becoming harder to mash on. I did make it back to my start point but didn't wish to fight the traffic all the way back to my home so I called the (wife) she gave a smile when she picked me up cause I didn't want to drive...I was alittle red faced and very tired...
It took a couple of days to recover from my first 60+ attempt.
Any sudden increase in mileage will get your attention..
Doug

I've had a non-fixable problem twice.
First time was in 2000. A car driven by some 80 year old woman forced me into the curb, bending my derailleur hanger (aluminum). Tried to slowly straighten it by hand (wrong, wrong, wrong) and it snapped off. My wife was at work and wouldn't get off for about 4 more hours. Bummed a ride home (11 miles) with a good looking blond (about half my age :innocent:) who was driving a Mazda Miyata convertible. That was tough. :)
Second time was last summer (2009). Had 2 flats (1 front, 1 rear) within 1/2 mile. This required me to use my spare tube and patch a tube. About a mile past that point I had a blowout caused by a cut in the sidewall of the rear tire. I didn't see it when repairing the rear tire the first time. Had to call my wife. Luckily she was home and I was only about 3 miles away.

Yep. I made a wrong turn on the Hennepin Canal towpath, ended up going about 20 miles in the wrong direction. I didn't really mind the detour, but it was really hot, and I just ran out of steam.

Only two times that I can recall that my bike and I ended up needing a ride. The first time was when I dropped my front tire through the slots of a storm grate as a kid and an attentive and considerate gas station attendant, who knew my father, made the phone call for me.

The second time was when I was a teen on a group ride, one rider crashed hard causing the other teen riders to elect having their parents come and get them, being that I didn't wish to ride 50 miles alone at that time, I elected to be taken home as well.

Couple weekends ago I completed my first organized 1/2 century in about 3 hrs including 2 rest/fuel stops. Had a great free lobster dinner w/ free Gritty's ale, and set off for home 28 miles away, mostly up hill. Got about 10 miles out (head winds all the way), and my left knee started aching, then lateral meniscus really started throbbing. I couldn't think of anyone to call, so I completed the ride, pushing with all I had with my right leg, letting the left 'go along for the ride'.... wasn't able to ride for a couple of days, but it's been fine since. In hindsight, I wouldn't have done this again, as I may have really done some damage....next time discretion over valor!

Several times, actually.

Once, I started off on a 200k, and was just getting overheated and felt so bad, I called in. I was riding into a headwind and hot and had a flat and missed the first control at 60 miles or so.
Then the next 200k, it was also hot, but I was dealing with it better, until I got leg cramps so bad I couldn't ride, at about the 86 mile mark.
Then once, I started off on a New Year's Day ride. I was going to ride to the ride, but got about 20 miles from the house, was cold and getting colder, sun wasn't up yet, and it was pretty miserable, so I called in.
All three of those were on my Worksman cruiser.

Since then, I've gotten better, have a better bike, better tires, and have learned how to deal with heat a bit better.

Many years ago, my brother was visiting from California. He'd been training for the Western States 100 (a 100-mile RUN) and wanted to go out on a 25-30 mile run. So I obliged and RODE alongside, using my speedo for pacing. Unfortunately, at the far point of the route, I ran over a sharp stone that ripped the sidewall of the tire. No repair possible. We walked/jogged together to the nearest establishment: a bar about 5 miles away. We were on our third beer by the time the Good Wife(tm) rescued me. The brother, of course, was mad that I ruined his run.

Nearer to the present, I went on DALMAC this year. The first three days were awesome, with warm weather and mostly-dry riding. Then the weather caved in on us. 30 mph winds with 50 mph gusts, temps in the 40s and rain. I know what I like, and that wasn't it! That was the end of my tour!

Two years ago my rear derailleur hanger broke throwing my der into the spokes. I was done for the day. Luckily, I was on a ride with our coach who followed us in a team van. He picked me up and I road with him for rest of the 70 mile ride.

I had my first time back in July. I was riding home from work and flatted 3 times. I only carry 2 spare tubes and I couldn't easily find the holes to patch the flats. I was 12 miles from home so I called my daughter to come and get me.

Fifteen miles into a ride last winter on the third flat I was out of options and had to call the SAG(wife) to be retrieved. I think this has pretty much happened to everyone if they ride a lot.

Actually thinking about this today when I discovered I had left the pump/co2 combo thing on the bench. Going to make a sign for the garage. "Do you have a pump?" to be hung somewhere I will see it before exiting.

I was 40 miles into a 70 miler, riding up hill. I rode over a wire bail handle for something - cooler, pail, that sort of thing. It flipped up into the front wheel, ferris wheeled around to the forks, broke four spokes, buckled the forks and front rim and catapulted me over the bars in much, much less time than it took to write this. I landed on my feet, running, and didn't go down, but the bike was toast. I called a buddy with a pick-up.

xizangstan, In retrospect there have been a couple of times I would've called for help, had I brought my cell phone.

Brad

Twice this year, 1st was the end of a 60 mile ride in July with temps in the mid 90s and high humidty, I flatted about 4 miles from home and just decided to call the wife for a ride instead of baking in the sun fixing it. The 2nd was after a flat in mid September at 7:15PM and when I changed the tube, the seals blew out of the head for the CO2. Since I was 10 miles from home with not much day light left, I just made the call (stopped and got a Morph G pump on the way home).

I had a crank strip out. The threads were all but gone. -- Had to walk a couple miles and ended getting a taxi to meet my gf at the beach
as she had the car, but no cell phone -- this was part of a 85 mile ride, missed by by about 20 miles

wpt

When I first started riding a road bike, I called my wife anytime I got a flat. Now, a flat doesn't even mess with how I feel about a ride.

Once.

I didn't need a patch kit, pump or phone because I was only doing a "short test ride in the neighborhood." About ten miles from home a nice guy in a pickup rescued me from my involuntary hike. Other than that, I've been lucky in not having any breakdowns I couldn't fix well enough to limp in but would not hesitate to call for sag if needed.

Ireland has Buses where the motor is under the center of the bus, so there is a Huge luggage compartment in the back..

swallows up a whole bike, as is, then panniers on top and still room for a bunch of backpacker's packs.

Every April my husband goes to a retreat up in Jackson NH. He goes to gain peace, I tag along to ride my bike in the beautiful White Mountains, huffing and puffing because it is just the beginning of the season.

Last April I set out with what I thought was every thing I would need in case of a flat my saddlebag, including my cell phone. Sure enough, going down a hill into a little hollow, I get a flat. Open up the bag, pullout the levers, a tube, the Co2 inflator thingy and a C02 cartridge - everything I need. Not! All individual components worked, but just not with each other! The tube had a Schrader valve, the C02 inflator thing had a Presta nozzle and the C02 cartridges were too small, they were for the other inflator thingy at home. Doh!


Plan B – pull out the cell phone & call husband – no service down in the little hollow – push bike up the other side – one little bar, but only if I stand way off the side of the road. Thank goodness my husband was not in the middle of a meditation session and had his phone on. I did not know the name of the road I was on, but I was able to tell him the rights & lefts he had to take to get to me so he was able to drive out and rescue me. Whew.

Earlier this year I got a torn tire on a fast downhill run...

Unfortunately there was no cell service down in the valley so I started pushing.

Got about 25 feet when a (empty) school bus stopped and offered to take me
home ! ( about 10 miles )

I will never complain about being behind a slow school bus again :)

Jerry

No, but almost.
Evening commute home, distance of only a few miles.
The wind was so strong, blowing from my left that it was nearly impossible to ride in a straight line.
Got off the bike, moved over one block, waited a while - walked a while, wind abated, rode the rest of the way home.

But for a few minutes there I sure thought about calling for a ride.

Jeff, still fat

Yes, two years ago. Thought I was not going to last until my wife got there. Not sure I stayed conscious the entire time.
In the middle of the hot summer I had ridden 80 plus miles the previous day. At about 60 miles on the second day I was riding with cyclist that were simply faster than me. I bonked. I overheated. I lost it. Very happy to still be there when my wife arrived.
I have been more careful since then.

My crankarm failed and I crashed breaking my collarbone. Needed a ride home after that