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What's the most idiotic thing you did as a new rider?

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

What's the most idiotic thing you did as a new rider?

Old 02-23-16, 09:26 AM
  #126  
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Originally Posted by Hiro11
Nothing prevents this stuff from fitting, but in my experience a saddle bag is just easier.
If you have just one bike, I guess it would be easy enough because it would just sit on the bike. I only have two bikes, but it's much easier to have one kit that I keep next to my jerseys and such and just throw it in my rear pocket. Also, it helps to wear properly fitted jerseys so that any little bit of weight in the pockets doesn't result in a jersey pulling on your neck or having your pockets flop around.
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Old 02-23-16, 09:30 AM
  #127  
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Few more to add:

1. Fixing a flat without pulling the tire to inspect for debris that caused the puncture in the first place. Still make that mistake sometimes.

2. There's something weird about the combination of leg warmers and bibs that causes some extremely unpleasant chafing on very sensitive parts of my anatomy that is best avoided by using balm or cream, but I've forgotten that a few times before going out for 50+ mile rides, not noticing the pain because everything is numb in the cold, and then having an absolutely excruciating experience in the shower for the next few days. This is also something I still manage to do every year.

3. Forgetting a multi-tool, and then have some niggling thing that needs to be tightened or adjusted halfway through a ride like a loose cleat or slightly askew bars.

Ect.
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Old 02-23-16, 09:32 AM
  #128  
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Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels
If you understood that post, please post a translation for us all.
It's pretty obvious. He probably has SRAM Red, and when he shifted, the speed of the gear change was so immense that it created a mini shockwave that cracked the windows of a car parking on the side of the road as he passed, sad face.

How did you read it?
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Old 02-23-16, 10:37 AM
  #129  
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I ran into an old guy walking across the street with a cane.

Rounded a corner and there he was. Nothing I could do.

Tried to swerve but I went that way and he went this way and BAM. My front wheel went right between his legs and my bar hit him square in the belly. Knocked him on his keester.

Guy gets off the ground cursing up a storm. "Sorry man! You okay? I didn't mean to hit you!" as the guy gets up. Then he raises his cane and I'm thinking to myself, "I'm out of here. Later."
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Old 02-23-16, 10:49 AM
  #130  
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Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels
If you have just one bike, I guess it would be easy enough because it would just sit on the bike. I only have two bikes, but it's much easier to have one kit that I keep next to my jerseys and such and just throw it in my rear pocket. Also, it helps to wear properly fitted jerseys so that any little bit of weight in the pockets doesn't result in a jersey pulling on your neck or having your pockets flop around.
The thing I like about a saddle bag, is all my cycling crap (multi-tool, tire levers, patches, spare tube, couple of asswipes in foil packs for hand-cleaning, etc.) are all in there, all the time, so even when I had 2 bikes and would have to switch the bag between bikes, it wasn't a bad trade-off- a few seconds of inconvenience, but knowing that I had all my stuff and didn't have to worry about forgetting anything. (Except for that time I forgot to take the bag!)
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Old 02-23-16, 10:53 AM
  #131  
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Originally Posted by Stucky
The thing I like about a saddle bag, is all my cycling crap (multi-tool, tire levers, patches, spare tube, couple of asswipes in foil packs for hand-cleaning, etc.) are all in there, all the time, so even when I had 2 bikes and would have to switch the bag between bikes, it wasn't a bad trade-off- a few seconds of inconvenience, but knowing that I had all my stuff and didn't have to worry about forgetting anything. (Except for that time I forgot to take the bag!)
One bag and set of tools and spares per bike. Especially useful for bikes with different tires sizes and/or tool requirements (mainly disc brake rotors).
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Old 02-23-16, 10:54 AM
  #132  
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Originally Posted by WalksOn2Wheels
What all do you have back there that prevents a tube, CO2 inflator, and a single tire lever from fitting?
Another tube and a 2nd CO2 cartridge.

After the 1st flat, 1 is none and 2 is one.

Jersey pockets are for my wallet, phone, money and 9mm adjustment tool.

Originally Posted by joejack951
One bag and set of tools and spares per bike. Especially useful for bikes with different tires sizes and/or tool requirements (mainly disc brake rotors).
Yep, the fixed gear kit has all that as well as the Surly tool for the axle nuts.
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Old 02-23-16, 11:02 AM
  #133  
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Originally Posted by andr0id
Yep, the fixed gear kit has all that as well as the Surly tool for the axle nuts.
That reminds me... as I start riding further from home with my son I really need to start carrying a 15mm box end wrench to remove his rear wheel in the event of a flat. Walking home by yourself is one thing. Walking home pushing two bikes and listening to the complaints from your four year old is a whole different hell (which I hope to never experience, of course).
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Old 02-23-16, 11:05 AM
  #134  
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Originally Posted by joejack951
That reminds me... as I start riding further from home with my son I really need to start carrying a 15mm box end wrench to remove his rear wheel in the event of a flat. Walking home by yourself is one thing. Walking home pushing two bikes and listening to the complaints from your four year old is a whole different hell (which I hope to never experience, of course).
Yeah, and you KNOW if he gets a flat, it's 99.98% sure that it'll be the rear wheel. It always is. Funny, but in all my years riding as a kid and teen- and then the last 4 years or so since I've gotten back into it as an adult, I don't think I've ever had a front flat. It's ALWAYS the rear! (My bikes must have been/must be gay, 'cause they're always taking it in the rear!)
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Old 02-23-16, 11:10 AM
  #135  
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Originally Posted by joejack951
One bag and set of tools and spares per bike. Especially useful for bikes with different tires sizes and/or tool requirements (mainly disc brake rotors).
Yeah, in the future, I'll just get a separate bag and duplicate items for any additional bikes I get. I have to do the same for my motor vehicles, as far as basic tools go, as it's a real pain always transferring them from vehicle to vehicle.
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Old 02-23-16, 03:20 PM
  #136  
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Originally Posted by Ridelots24
buying a bike for my wife.....
No $h1t.

Me, too.

Her dusty bike sits alone in the garage.

Last edited by Johnny Rad; 02-23-16 at 03:24 PM.
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Old 02-23-16, 05:13 PM
  #137  
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My department sent me to a week long IMPBA certification course to become a bicycle patrol officer. During the course, the instructor made a comment about never using your front brakes while riding down stairs. It makes sense, you hit the front brakes, the bike stops, and you flip over the handlebars and break something. However, me being me, spent the next two years wondering what would happen if you hit your rear brakes while riding down a flight of stairs. So I tried it, which resulted in the bike stopping on the stairs, me saying "OH S**T", flipping over the handlebars, and breaking my collar bone.
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Old 02-23-16, 06:08 PM
  #138  
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Originally Posted by Johnny Rad
Her dusty bike sits alone in the garage.
Same experience here. It's okay, though, because my daughter is now tall enough to ride it. Hell, I even ride it down the block once in a while (it's easy to hop on because it has flat pedals and the seat is so low, I feel like I'm sitting on a bmx bike or something...

One day she'll swing a hefty leg over it...
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Old 02-23-16, 06:29 PM
  #139  
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The dumbest (or most awesome, depending on how you look at it) thing I did as a new rider was back when I was 14 years old (around 1988).....did my first 100+ mile ride, with basically zero training - unless playing tennis counts as training. Combine that with about zero knowledge of hydration and fueling, as well as poor clothing choice (those heavy cotton shorts sure chafed like a mofo), and other than youthful ignorance, I have no idea how I managed to finish that ride....and on my neighbor's 12+ year old Raleigh racing bike that was about 2-3 sizes too big for me. My buddy had it even worse....he had a 40 pound department store tank of a mountain bike that he rode - but it had a rack, so we put a few bananas, drinks and some canned fruit on it.....and my 4 pound camera too. It took us 12 hours, including a 30 mile detour when we missed a road and ended up two towns over in the wrong direction. That ride built all sorts of character.

Although, I did forget about the 75 mile solo ride I did months prior to that.....my first-ever road bike ride (on the same neighbors bike) was 19 miles, and loved it...which is what initially got me into road cycling. So, my second ride was the 75 miler. I was so tired after 6 hours (took me 8 hours in total), I actually fell asleep while riding - hit a rock in the road which caused me to walk over the handlebars....I was going pretty slow at the time, but that woke me up quickly. Fortunately it happened in front of a Dunkin Donuts on Rte. 5 in Wallingford, CT, so I stopped in for some much needed sugar and calories.

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Old 02-23-16, 07:11 PM
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That would be the time my chain was rubbing the front derailer but I decided the noise was lack of lubrication (bike had barely 200km on it) and poured motor oil on the chain & cassette.

Naturally I had to have the bike thoroughly cleaned afterwards - and of course replace my rear brake pads.
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Old 02-23-16, 07:30 PM
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Noticed while riding that when putting the tape on the bars I hadn't pushed one of the plugs in all the way. So I gave it a whack with the palm of my hand.
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Old 02-24-16, 09:37 AM
  #142  
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Originally Posted by andr0id
Another tube and a 2nd CO2 cartridge.

After the 1st flat, 1 is none and 2 is one.

Jersey pockets are for my wallet, phone, money and 9mm adjustment tool.
I did fail to mention that I keep a patch kit in there as well. Not that it does any good sitting in the kit with a single cartridge, but on longer rides, I will grab my mini pump and throw that in the jersey pocket as well. I run tubeless sealant in the tubes of one bike and the other bike is set up tubeless, so flats are extremely rare. In general, they were always rare even before I went tubeless.

And I'm pretty sure you're not talking about a multi-tool, but since others mentioned it, I gave up carrying a multi tool a long time ago. I did so religiously for a long time and then realized that I'm anal enough about my bikes that they always get attention the second something is amiss, usually right after the ride I first notice it on. Of course, having said that I'm bound to have a major mechanical malfunction in the next month.
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Old 02-24-16, 10:07 AM
  #143  
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Originally Posted by Babe Ruthless
That would be the time my chain was rubbing the front derailer but I decided the noise was lack of lubrication (bike had barely 200km on it) and poured motor oil on the chain & cassette.

Naturally I had to have the bike thoroughly cleaned afterwards - and of course replace my rear brake pads.
Winner. At least you didn't set your dork disc on fire!
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Old 02-24-16, 10:40 AM
  #144  
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Originally Posted by jon c.
Noticed while riding that when putting the tape on the bars I hadn't pushed one of the plugs in all the way. So I gave it a whack with the palm of my hand.
Oh, I did that once. If you do it more than once, you're a really slow learner.
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Old 02-24-16, 10:58 AM
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Chain ring marks on inside of left front shin?
Unclipping wrong shoe falling over ala Art Johnson on Laugh In......
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Old 02-24-16, 10:59 AM
  #146  
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Originally Posted by bykemike
Leaving on a ride, moving real good, thinking "crap I am improving fast!" going 45 miles instead of the 20 you had planned and then turning around to head back into a 25 knot wind...and I continue to do some version of this more often than I would like to say.
OMG! hilarious because its so true.
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Old 02-24-16, 11:15 AM
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Been riding "seriously" since 1970 and I still do stupid stuff...
__________________
Today, I believe my jurisdiction ends here...
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Old 02-24-16, 01:24 PM
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Originally Posted by KonaRider125

2. The waving thing. Started out being Mr. Nice guy and waving to all other cyclists, not too many waves back and it took me a whole to figure out waving is not a cool thing to do. Now I don't make any gestures to anyone on the bike other than on rare occasion the middle finger to a motorist.
Is a "hi!" okay? I get that quite alot.
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Old 02-24-16, 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by pressed001
I stick to the head knod over here. Or just completely ignore the other riders. I would like it if people here were more friendly. That would be awesome. But if you wave at someone over here, that you don't personally know, they automatically think you want to have sex with them. No, seriously. These people are all sorts of anti-social. If you ask someone that you don't know how they are doing, they automatically think you want to have sex with them. And I am not kidding. Cultural differences 101.
American in Denmark. I totally "get" this. I stick to the road unless spoken to then gladly reply back if they're still around.

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Old 02-24-16, 02:11 PM
  #150  
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Originally Posted by Johnny Rad
No $h1t.

Me, too.

Her dusty bike sits alone in the garage.
Sell it. Give her something she actually will enjoy.
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