lsberrios1 

Thinking that cycling would make me look cool in front of the ladies..

jerrycan42

Unless you meet you S.O. in a group 1/2 road ride, your biking "Hobby" will be an issue. Best to stay single...

Team Sarcasm

I actually got my back side handed to me on a hill by a fat dude the other day No shame here

When he passed me he said "suck it bish" and moved along. Caught up with him at a gas station and he was a pretty chill dude. He said "I have to stick it to you skinny dudes and show you guys what's up"

Niloc

Riding skinny tires. Unfortunately many, many bikes marketed in the shops and online are "race bikes" just like the pros and can only accept skinny tires. Maybe this will change now that even the pros are seeing the light and moving to wider rubber. Really, unless you're racing, and even, there's no reason for anybody to be on a tire thinner than 25mm. And if you're large, by design or because you're cycling to lose some weight bravo, you should be considering 28mm or greater. My first adult road bike could barely fit 25s, but it was a Softride (remember those - maybe that counts as a rookie mistake right there) so that partly made up for it.

Riding cross chained. I never did this b/c I'm kinda OCD about gearing, but I see it a lot. Especially the chain on the small ring and way too far down the cogset. Once you're past about the middle of your cogset you should be getting up on the big ring. You're obviously starting to really move and not climbing a hill so aside from the efficiencies of crossing the chain and maxing your deraileur spring, you're not gaining much at that point by dropping another tooth or two on the back.

cellery

Using those heavy green goo tubes on a road bike. What a mess.

RIRview

Oh jeez...I remember those. Like a green volcano erupting all over the living room floor.

zymphad

Not stretching. As your legs tighten, it also strains your lower back. Stretch before and after each ride!

zymphad

I'd rather be slow and skinny than fat and slightly faster, he's still fat. You're only going to get faster, and soon you'll be skinny and super fast. He'll still be fat.

aubiecat

Bad advice.

zymphad

Excellent advice.

aubiecat

You should read up on modern sports medicine before you give out advice to strangers.

redlude97

Its been shown that stretching before exercise doesn't help with cramps and possibly decreases maximum strength, but sometimes that isn't the goal, and increase ROM is more important. Static cold stretching can still help with this.

KJL

Rookie mistake I still make: Eating bad or too much before a long ride -

KJL

I have found that a light spin warm up and then stretch seems to help me much more than a cold stretch out. helps me in hockey as well.

zymphad

Warm up is recommended for running as well, it's what I do.

I'll ignore your sports medicine and do what I've been coached to do in the past. And will advice anyone I meet who asks, to stretch before and after.

redlude97

Yes, obviously this is ideal and what I usually do as well. My main point though is that static stretching before a ride isn't necessarily detrimental because the goals are different than for other sports/activities. A loose back and neck are keys for a good ride for me, and they require some amount of stretching before a ride.

aubiecat

Will you still give advice to ******es and riders who wear spandex?

dave s

Mustering up the courage to try clipless shoes and pedals, then 1 week later doing a 65 mile ride for the 1st time, (longest previous was 35, on flat pedals), then adjusting cleats 50 miles in 'cause I had a hot spot. Don't adjust cleats mid-ride, it only makes it worse.

cellery

Putting chocolate bars in your jersey pocket of a white jersey on a not cold day.

Tightening crabon seatpost without torque wrench.

Buying a white saddle bag.

Riding with a white saddle bag in bad weather.

Wearing thermal bibs in Phoenix.

Riding on the inside of the group when near the curb.

I could go on.

Jed19

Oh, many!

The most memorable though, is a fat, experienced lady roadie handing me my head on a platter. I had been an athlete all my life and thought cycling was gonna be easy for a fit athlete. I hooked up on the road with a fat lady cyclist, who then proceeded to hand me my head. I learnt real quickly that just because a cyclist is fat, that does not mean they can't kick your butt till kingdom come.

zymphad

Could have been that you were really bad at that time. And also the terrain was suitable for her, add a lot of hills, tons of hills, and then see what happens.

Routes I have been riding have a lot of hills, no mountains or giant hills, but there is never relief long before the next hill. All the cyclists I've seen who were clearly better than me, have been in phenomenal shape, all have that typical good hill climber physique. Light, strong legs, not overly muscular, flexible etc.

Then add in coastline, near the ocean. The wind off the water, again, I don't see anyone who is faster than me who isn't in enviable physique and fitness. Dudes are clipping at 20mph or near that into headwind, crosswind, and hills, and never seem to slow down, it's impressive. Makes me feel weak.

surgeonstone

Totally unnecessary.

upthywazzoo 

I adjusted my seat height the night before a ride and forgot to tighten the seatpost clamp bolt. Rode over a small bump on the street and instantly sank 6 inches down. I almost fell off, and couldn't clip out thanks to my overtightened pedals (another mistake). Thankfully I didn't fall and was able to slow down in a non-trafficy area on the side of the street, to fix the problem.

Niloc

Haha thanks a good one! Yep I've had not tightened enough seatpost issues as well. That sucker needs to be snug! (One reason I'll never have a crabon fiber seatpost). Same goes for the bolt securing your saddle to the post, I was futzing with my saddle angle and didn't tighten it enough, rode off and my saddle nose tipped up uncomfortably between my legs...

zymphad

Maybe you're riding too comfortably.

While everything pros do, isn't something I would do. But stretching is one that makes sense. They spend a lot of time stretching.

Also there is nearly no downside to stretching. It helps with muscle growth and recovery. It also prevent injury. And it makes you a better cyclists, getting low, staying low for longer period of time.

Maybe unnecessary for you, it's necessary for me. I want to ride aggressively and get uncomfortable.