jimmuller 

Several of them to report. The other day we were flying down a modest hill on the tandem, spinning out the 52/14 and hitting 29.7 mph. When we finally slowed Sharon said "That's the kind of biking I really like!" Faster, faster! Under power, not coasting downhill.

Same day, a real C&V-rider moment. We are approaching a modest downhill and I reach down to pull the lever backwards to shift to the big ring. Except the pedals seem to spin a lot more easily. Hmm, did I throw the chain? So I return the lever, then try again. Same thing. I ask Sharon what ring are we on? (The captain can't see the chainrings very easily.) She said the middle ring. Well what the '? Then it hit me. To shift the front, use the left lever. Duh.

I did that once a few years ago, went to downshift for a steep hill coming up, shoved the lever forward, and realized it was the wrong lever. Needless to say, the bike came to a stop pretty quickly. Sharon was not amused.

What great C&V moments have you had lately?

Steve Whitlatch 

I saw a guy on what looked to be a brand new carbon bike stop at a red light. His foot was stuck to his pedal and he just fell over sideways in slow motion with the funniest look on his face. He was ok. Just hurt his pride a bit.

thinktubes 

Maybe the you should retitle the thread "Great C&V Senior Moments"

r0ckh0und 

About a week or so ago, I stopped in to the local service station for a cup of coffee and saw a nice early 90's RB-1 leaning against the front of the building. Chatted with the owner for a couple minutes and carried on.

Seeing someone riding a decent C&V rig can be a rarity in my neck of the woods.

The Golden Boy 

Saturday, trucking along on my new Trek 720, with my newly installed fenders. Beautiful day, beautiful bike... dodging potholes, and hitting a lot of them regardless- and I hear a grinding coming from (seems like) my front wheel. I stop, pick up the front wheel, spin it, no noise. Ride another 100 meters, hear the rubbing grinding... Spin the wheel, no noise. Ride 100 meters, really insistent grinding... stop, spin front wheel, no noise... for giggles I started to pick up the rear end and noticed all FOUR stays had come undone. Apparently the jars from the potholes had popped off one of the draw bolts, and then the other 3 followed. I must not have tightened them down enough.

So I cussed all the way home.

I stole 4 draw bolts from another fender (that I lost 2 draw bolts from). Got it re-installed and tightened down today. I'll be going out and tightening again and then using clear nail polish to seal the threads.

jimmuller 

TGB, that a really nice looking bike.

I figured C&V sort of implied "senior". As in C&V rider. The bike could be any age at all, any age at all.

bwilli88 

Instead of using nail polish use some beeswax does the same thing but lubEs it a bit and still keeps it from backing out

zandoval 

Was ridding last year and picking up a box of Girl Scout Cookies from the sidewalk in front of a local store - The Brownie I was buying them from turned to her mother standing behind her and whispered "Mommy, his feet are strapped to his pedals?"...

The Golden Boy 

Thank you!

CV-6 

I cannot say I have not been the guy falling over. Twice several years apart on the same bike. Brain fart all the way.

Velognome 

Left my Utility bike leaning against the wall of the local grocery, when I came out, a mother was telling her daughter,

" Now that's a real bike, I bet you it's been places most people only dream about".

To myself, I thought,

"yup, the A&P"

noglider 

A bike disappeared off my porch. I was too embarrassed to tell the world, since I had just recovered a stolen bike which was also unlocked on my porch.

Two months later, I saw my bike locked up at the train station. After a few seconds, I realized I was the one who locked it up there. I rode to the train station, took the train to the city, and met my wife there, who drove me home to the house.

That's a senior moment if ever there was one.

rootboy 

。。did she drive you to the house? Or to the home?

SJX426 

I was going to tell about a senior moment but I forgot it.

Seriously, I have excellent memory. It's just short.

jonwvara 

I do that once a year or so, usually because I've misjudged the slope of the ground.

On quite a few other occasions, I've been doing slow 360-degree circles in the middle of a deserted road--basically going from one shoulder to the other--while marking time and waiting for a riding companion to catch up. (I do that because I'm too lazy to unclip or take my feet out of the toe straps). But as I've demonstrated several times while doing so, it's surprising easy to oversteer, make the front wheel stop dead, and fall off in a really comical ultra-low-speed crash. It always happens just as the person I was waiting for catches up to me.

But I always maintain my dignity.

The Golden Boy 

I remember, when I started with clips and straps- I was nervous- someone (here) telling me 'you're going to fall over a few times, then you'll get it.'

I had gone to Target and among my bounty (inside my backpack, bungeed to my rack) was a 12 pack of soda. I came to the stopsign and my foot did not come out, and down I went. With soda cans bouncing all across the road one blew open... that was inspirational.

crank_addict

Well, one that stays with me and going waaay back. I was probably 7 or 8 and we had coaster brake bikes. We'd love to race down a large hill trail with a sharp right hander at the bottom. But at the bend was a barbed wire fence with a creek running behind. Me the knucklehead thought the bike would be faster without a chain. You guessed it - the downhill ride without brakes ended in a bloody mess tangled in the fence.

jonwvara 

Unluckily for you, it probably was a little faster.

RobbieTunes

Nothing recent. 2 years ago, I rode 27 miles to a century ride, then rode the metric, then rode home. No biggie.

At that time, there were several women, seemed to be in their 30's and 40's, who wore leopard-print jerseys, with tails.
Let's also just say they were a very fit bunch. They rode together, hung together, and pretty much gave off the sisterhood vibe.
We've called them the Hot Moms for years.

Somehow, about 40 miles into this metric, their little group came into my sights; I was on a '92 Paramount, 650c OS Series 7.
As I moved up, through, and out the front over a period of a mile or so, one of them looked over and said,
"A Paramount. I used to have one of those. They're...old." I laughed and moved on.

At the next rest stop, I overheard one of them say to the other "He's not as tall as I thought he was."
The other one said "those are 650c wheels; they make the bike look bigger than it really is."

With all that implied, I ate my Fig Newton and rode away.

non-fixie 

Was about to mention the exact same experience ...

... but I never really succeed at this. How does one do that?

daf1009

Not sure this qualifies with some of the other postings...but...it was an interesting experience nonetheless...

On a recent metric century, I was stopped at a rest stop for a sandwich (BTW...really good sandwich!) and a drink...as this was the 1/2 way rest stop. Sitting there, minding my own business...and BOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!! goes a tire. I look over at my beautiful Miyata 1000...as this was the first long ride she and I were on since I rebuilt her. My helmet, glasses, jacket were all still on my saddle...so, in my mind, I was like...ok...not my tires! Cool...

I finished my sandwich (did I mention that it was a wonderful Italian...with some really good salami and pepperoni? Yeah, I know, not the typical sandwich for a ride like this...but...hey...pretty C&V!)...finished my Coke (yes, I let myself have a 90 calorie can of Coke!)...and started over to my bike...and...guess what...NO REAR WHEEL...but...my helmet, glasses, jacket were still on my saddle...hmmmmmmmmmm....

Well...long story shortened...obviously it was my tire that went BOOM...the local mechanic had taken the wheel and put me a new tube in. Boy...did I feel pretty dumb...as I recalled...when I looked over the first time...my wheel was gone then too...I was just too into my sandwich to notice!

Guess the food was more important than the bike!

JamesRL

I was about 16 when I was riding downa shady lane to a conservation area, before the season opened. The lane was dark enough I didn't see the wire fencing pulled across the road until it was too late. There was a steel post in the middle with a piece of plywood about 3x3 leaning against it. I guessed that it was probably safer to hit the plywood than hit the wire and go flying. So I tucked, hands on the stem at the last moment. The front wheel hit, the rear wheel lifted off the ground. And I was fine. The forks bent back and the frame buckled, but I didn't get a scratch. I like steel.....

CroMo Mike 

On a few occasions I've been riding one of my vintage bikes and came along side a rider on a modern bike who looked at mine an proceeded to tell me he used to have one "like that" in the day and loved it. Not too long ago I was overtaken by a biker on a titanium Litespeed while I was riding my 1972 Bottecchia. Didn't hurt that I was wearing a Colnago jersey. He was a strong rider and clearly into what he was doing, but he slowed down and we talked for a bit. The whole time, he talked about how cool he thought my 40+ year old Bottecchia was, what great shape it was in, and how he remembered them from when they we new. And did I really have a Colnago, too? When it was over and he rode on, I felt like a doof for not letting him know I admired his Litespeed too. Lesson learned: Some of the modern riders appreciate some C&V every now and then.

OldsCOOL

Last summer I took a water stop on a very hot day at a lakeside park. While refilling my bottle at the fountain there was an elderly woman staring at my '89 Technium PRE. Walking over to say hello and be on my way she said, "that's a beautiful bike". I just grinned and said thanx.

CroMo Mike 

Sometimes you don't even have to be on the road. One day a bud came by my house to discuss another passion of mine, RC powerboat racing. We were hanging out in the workshop and he couldn't stop admiring my vintage bikes and talking about when he was a teenager working in one of the local bike shops. That was in the 1980's and the Tomassini was the bike to have. My bikes were a timecapsule for him. So much for RC powerboat racing.