David_Harris

Maybe keep a second light and charger at work?

My biggest one is: I was going on an event ride/race (for the fast people, anyway!), and it was a longer event than I had ridden before. I was going through my gear before I left the parking garage to eliminate unneeded things to be hauled on the ride, and decided that since I’d not be parking or taking a coffee break at any point, I didn’t need my super-cool snakeskin pattern Ottolock along for the ride. Took it and stuffed it in the door pocket in my wife’s car in the parking garage by the start.

That was in November 2023. Haven’t seen it since. We have both searched the entire car multiple times. Getting ready to buy a replacement.

Everything else I pulled out of my gear is still where it is supposed to be.

rsbob 

Firesign Theater would have lent you their bus.

devianb

Wasn't recently, but years ago after work I went outside to where I park my bicycle and didn't see it. I thought someone had taken my bicycle so I walked home. It wasn't till I had gotten home and saw my driveway empty that I realized I had driven to work that day.

Ghazmh

• Forgot to recharge my headlight battery before going out for a ride at 0500.
• Made it to the end of the main road in my neighborhood before realizing I forgot my helmet.
• routed my chain through the derailleur cage wrong, multiple times.
• mounted tires backwards, multiple times.
• bought the coated Dura Ace shift cables, multiple times.
• fell from not unclipping fast enough.
• got in the zone while hammering and almost blew a stop sign into traffic, thanks Brian for yelling to me to stop.
• Not me but someone in my club got dressed in the dark only to find his bib shorts were inside out.

Smaug1

A cheaper alternative is to just go back to replaceable battery lights that run on AAAs. Put throw-away lithiums in. When they start to run down, they just progressively get dimmer, so you're never actually going blind.

I have rechargeable ones on a couple bikes; they're generally light & small, (esp. the rear) but I do occasionally get caught without light, as they switch off to protect the Li-Ion cells within. Even when we don't forget them at home, we occasionally over-estimate how long they can go on a charge. Esp. the Bontrager Flarer rear. Only goes for one or two long rides, but I can't get it through my thick skull after so many years of running the bigger blinky rear LED lights with AAAs. They go FOREVER.

Smaug1

The other day, I finally decided it was time to take the 1972 Schwinn Varsity on a slow coffee ride with a local group. I had been raving about what a nice ride this bike has, to make up for it being slow.
I thought the tires were fine, but checked them anyway. The front was at 20 psi and the rear was at 30. I forget how fast Schrader valves leak down.
I felt pretty fast on that ride, once I got them to 55 & 60! It felt faster than my new gravel bike, which weighs 20 lbs less, hehehe.

1972 Schwinn Varsity: steel EVERYTHING

Dino_Sore

We can end this thread now. You win.