Ziptie

...how a perfectly good ride gets spoiled. Sorry, it's Friday, time for an utterly pointless thread about nothing of any importance at all. Flats and mechanical failures are obvious, but what are those random occurrences that can really spoil a good ride?
For example, dogs, drunks, freak electrical storms that rearrange the neurons in your brain giving you extra sensory perception, which is really fun at first, but ends up becoming a soul crushing burden as you drink yourself into oblivion in a vain attempt to wipe out visions of yet another washed up celebrity getting their own reality show. "Luke and the Duke", in which Luke Perry and the decrepit remains of John Wayne shack up together with a bunch of sorority girls in a one room apartment. Who will be the first to go?

Please share your stories.

merider1

Wow! I'm not sure what you're requesting, but as far as Reality shows go, I personally would love to film a Celebrity RAAM, where they get a whole host of D celebrities to ride their own RAAM, with an all-celebrity crew per each team (four teams total). They would be given four weeks to make it and have 10-20 mile pulls in teams of four (come on - you KNOW they're not in the shape for the real RAAM mileage and time). The first team that makes it to AC wins a million and a special DVD release about their voyage. I imagine Kathy Griffin being the head of one of the crews on which Pauley Shore would be a rider, and all the possiblities that would go along with that.

GP

I didn't wear my lucky hat to an organized ride last month and left my ipod in the hotel.

Ziptie

Yeah, I got a little carried away there, sorry. Basically, what are some sure fire ride spoilers?

merider1

Well, the only true ride spoilers I have ever had have been not fun at all: darn near heat exhaustion, full blown asthma attack and nausea/bonking.

I suppose the time that my wa-hoozit started bleeding from friction in the saddle was pretty fun in a masochistic kind of way.

Ziptie

Wow. That beats hot sticky gum on my tires any day.

merider1

Yeah, hot sticky gum would have been helpful!

Ziptie

wa-hoozit chews-it.

merider1

That's just wrong.

ovoleg

I got dizzy reading this...

Cassave

Incredible.
Five posts to first mention of sexual content (almost sure about that but correct me if I'm wrong ME)
Nine posts to complete thread meltdown.
Almost a new record.

merider1

Okay, just because I mention a very painful experience on the bike does not imply sexual content! I didn't say I was humping the saddle, I had on poorly fitting shorts! Is it a crime to mention the netherlands? Also, that DID spoil my ride which is perfectly on topic with this thread.

Ziptie

Honestly, I think this post melted down before I even posted it.

MarkAJ

This past January’s Stage Coach Century! Due to the cold it was the first ride I did not enjoy.

So put me down for too cold or too hot and riding through excreta.

1955

This one time I had a ginormous boil form right on the end of my...oh never mind, ME you win.

adxm

Well I'll help steer it back:

I was in the middle (73 mi in) of a great to-be-epic ride, hammering it, westward on 76 heading towards South Grade road to climb Palomar. Really a pretty dangerous, heavily trafficked road with no shoulder. I was digging in my pockets to grab a gel and all of a sudden I hear a horrendous noise and couldn't pedal anymore.

When I stopped and looked back, I saw one of my arm warmers had fallen out, jammed itself in my drivetrain and somehow ripped my derailleur and derailleur hanger off - ruining both. Luckily there was cell service - and even more luckily I found someone willing to drive 150 mi round trip to pick my sorry self up!

merider1

I've had this happen. I was out climbing one of the Griffith Park canyons with two fellas about two years ago and one of my arm warmers came out of the bungee cord I had tied it with to my saddle bag (never did that again) and fell into my derailer and cassette. Fortunately, I was going so slowly I was able to unclip and stop the bike immediately. One of the guys was able to pull it out and straighten everything out! But it did scare me enough to start tying the arm warmers in knots around my handle bars...but then Big John and Verical Bob scared me enough recently (with horror stories) to get me to stop doing that as well.

Cassave

It's been said that Gino Bartoli used to tie arm warmers around his wa-hoozit.
A true innovator.

merider1

Well, I feel sorry for her... You're a trouble maker, you know that?! Too bad you can so drop me. Otherwise, I'd follow you around tomorrow morning telling you all about the wa-hoozit issue I once had.

Pamestique 

I have a friend who followed me to Moab for an organized ride. As we were pulling into a parking garage she remembered she had her bike on the roof of her car so she backed out. She stuck the bar they hang to show the roof height with the rear stays of her bike, totally crashing them in. 12 hours drive to Moab and can't ride. That sucked!

What sucked even worse, the bike was totalled. That made for a bad weekend. She did find someone selling a frame on the 3rd day (we were leaving the 4th) and she bought it and the guy, feeling sorry for her, changed the components over for free. She never got to ride but she did get a new bike.

merider1

Now, that takes the cake...

Drew12

Riding the dirt trails of OC last winter, haveing a great time, feeling good! Heading up a hill...
Starts to rain, just enough to wet the trail....
riding on an off camber corner an... slip slide right into a large patch of Wild Atichoke!
Now some of you may not know what this is, it's a large plant thats only reason for existence is
to leave about a thousand very small spikes in my skin...
I was still finiding them days alter!!

Ouch!! but still fun......
( I'll take this over ME's wha-whosits rash anyday....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/leslievella64/496587260/

Jaguar27

Actually ME, there was such a ride recently of which one of my hero's, Steve Harley, was a part of..
It was a British Charity and came and went without anyone in the US knowing about it...

350 miles across death Valley in a week...wow!! the Brits were in awe!! except it was during March and obviously only a few miles a Day...but it was for a good cause, something to do with Land Mines...looks like they had a blast though...https://www.steveharley.com/deathvalley.html