simplyred

I thought I'd start something new on the forums.
Everyone seems to love posting their numbers & stories... so I think I'll do mine.

I've fallen 8 times from not unclipping.
I've been dropped by a girl - because I couldn't keep pace with her as I was in 39/25.
I've been dropped by a guy in a group ride - he was wearing cargo pants; I had a Giro Atmos.
I've puked twice from overtraining at the gym - because my lunges w/ 10 lb weights were too much for me.
I can't benchpress my own weight.
My max sustainable wattage is 170 W.
I've blown up climbing a 3% hill - in 39/25.
My right shifter and main bottle cage is off center because I've fallen so many times.
My suffer threshold HR is 185 @ 53/19 for 6 mins.
I've only been in 53/12 once - at 30 rpm.

This is the real me. This is how it is - but I love cycling as much as the next person on these forums.
Do I want to get better? Absolutely... And the thing with cycling is; it can't happen in a day, a month, or even a year.

I hope some members will also share of their numbers & stories.

Happy Riding

RoboCheme

how about your age and weight?

bikerski

sorry I can't help. the girls around here would kick your ass and make you wear a skirt. only bone I can throw is that maybe you can get some simpathy action from the ladies.

teamawe

I'll join in:

When I started with a group of mnt bikers in the 90's I was so slow climbing I would have to wake them up from a nap on top of a 6% 2 mile hill.

I did a mnt bike ride in Mexico, La Montana Grande, I'm on my klein and some kid passes me on a kmart bike with reflectors on a climb. /cry

Once during a race I had read that cutting up your power bars would save you time and chewing (back before gels), so I did and placed them just under the ellastic of my shorts for easy reach. Well the sweat disolved them and at teh finish line I had power-gu mushing thru my shorts like some kinda play-doh toy.

martin_j001

Nothing wrong with any of that at all if you ask me. Regarless of whether you're on a 20 year old Schwinn, whether you're 350lbs, whether you're decked out in full kit with a custom bike or somewhere in between--we're all cyclists. I always find it annoying how elitist some people can be about the sport, but the same is true in everything. Like you said, Peter-- Happy Riding!

gapowermike

Congratulations. I fell from failure to unclip at a crowded intersection and provided laughs for the rush hour crowd fortunate enough to be passing by that morning.

'nother

OK, why not:

- I've been dropped by a MTB rider (riding on the road) on at least 2 occasions.

- I've been dropped by so many chicks it's not funny. I don't even care anymore. It ain't like I'm gonna get laid (by anyone: I'm married).

- My lowest gear is 39-32 and some long/steep grades are still enough to make me think about a 34T.

- Only fell over a few times from not unclipping, but every time I've had some kind of audience.

- I have no idea what my max power output is, and don't care.

- I have never worked out at a gym (what is this "bench press"? )

- I have puked from overdrinking on too many occasions to count. Never in the past 10 years though.

- I am 35, ~175 lbs, edging closer to 170 and eventually shooting for 165.

my58vw

We to...

- I have been passed on a 6 percent grade by a kid on a BMX bike

- I have rolled backwards on a few 14+ percent hills with a 39-23.

- I can do 1/2 pushup, bench press 60 pounds, curl 50 pounds, leg press 275 pounds

- I get passed by girls all the time - and don't really care to view when they pass (Kallmann's for you).

- I have gotten dropped by a kid on a climb that just started riding and he is riding a 28 pound non suspended MTB.

- I have been dropped in the first lap of a Cat 5 crit

cyclezen

Oh Yeah?
I'm so slow that I had to return my bike computer to the LBS 5 times, because it would never work...

/rimshot - "try the ckicken, tastes just like chicken, I'm here til Sunday..."

on a 'real' note - end of yesterday's ride, I'm thinkin to myself "why does the Big Ring feels so hard to push right now?" - look down, and I'm lookin at the chain on the small ring... on a compact crank setup... DOH :-\

superdex

Easily the funniest thing I've read today. Or yesterday. Hell, this week. Thank you!


I've called the girlfriend to come pick me up because I was worried about lightning while a thunderstorm rolled in. As I watched more than one other rider go on by, not thinking twice about it.

roadfix

At least you've got an upper body of a real roadie....

chroot

Let's see...

I've fallen about eight times myself on clipless, and have done plenty of stupid things. Let's recap:

- I fell after three minutes of clipless use in a parking lot in front of my girlfriend.
- I almost fell two minutes later (the gf was still watching), and actually broke the cleat.
- I fell once because I neglected to unclip both feet when turning the bike around 180 degrees. A nice patch of bramble bushes broke my fall.
- I fell once because I was in much too high a gear to begin moving up a hill.
- I fell once waiting for a car to pass, after the driver tried to be "nice" by giving me the inappropriate right-of-way.
- I end up in my granny gear at least once on almost every ride that's not board-flat.
- I have found myself wishing for gears lower than 30/25 literally dozens of times.
- I hit my max heart rate within three minutes of my most recent liesurely group ride.
- I couldn't fight the wind on the Golden Gate Bridge one morning and ended up getting pushed into the railing.
- My helmet (Giro Pneumo) makes my head look like a mushroom. My girlfriend is happy to point this out routinely.
- I always have the whitest little chicken legs of anyone in every group ride I've done to date.
- I almost cried when I fell on someone's driveway at 0 mph and my brifter got rotated out of line. I thought I had ruined my bike. When I got home, I finally realized you can just push them back.
- I'm absolutely terrified of going through the rows of concrete poles that block cars from entering bike paths.
- I got stuck at a protected left turn light for almost ten minutes one time because I could not figure out how to trigger the light, or what else to do.
- I took a quick look at someone else's bike and thought for a minute or two that he was riding a bike called a Bento Box. I complimented him on a nice looking Bento Box. He was puzzled.

- Warren

my58vw

^^^

DVDaze

I'd say, forget the numbers. Sometimes focusing on the numbers just takes away from the enjoyment of the bike. Just focus on riding a set amount of time everyday and screw everything else... Who cares how many watts, Max HR, etc... I think these things are meant to be tools, not a club to beat yourself with... Just ride and the numbers will fix themselves over time.

JavaMan

OK, I've been riding a long time, so all these have happened to me at some point...

I've fallen twice from not unclipping.
I almost lost it to a speed wobble at 45 mph.
I crashed from touching a wheel while drafting.
I get lost occasionally on streets I should know.
I flew over the bars 3 times while mountain biking.
I crashed because my tire got stuck in a drain cover.
A guy wearing sandals with flat pedals rode me off his wheel.
I bonked so bad I had to beg a soda from some people having a picnic.
I had to stop and puke at the top of a hill while my friend waited for me.
I rode in the dark with no lights because I was too lazy to charge the batteries.
I constantly go too hard at the beginning of a ride or climb, then falter toward the end.
Part of my scrotum was numb for a week because I was too stupid to stand up occasionally.

There are more, but I can't think of them right now, or I've blocked them out of my memory!

jrennie

I honestly question if my power output would turn the fridge light bulb on.

ovoleg

Hahaha this is fun, let me add my noobness in

-I fell off at least twice that I can remember, I unclipped the right foot and then accidently started leaning left with my foot clipped in...
-I gave up on a few hills where I pushed so hard that i could not make it. Then I tried to start again but the hill was too steep so I fell off and rode down.
-I tried to keep pace with a girl for 10 miles until she finally sped off. I was doing good until I got right next to her(this took alot of energy) and she was still relaxed
-A guy on a MTB was ahead and I tried for at least 12 miles to catch up to him but couldnt.
-I still suck at flats

SpongeDad

I'm so old that if I got my HR to 185 (see OP), my chest would explode.

caloso

On the bike leg of my first Tri after buying a very expensive (to me) carbon fiber rocket, I was passed by a guy on a 1970s Sears Free Spirit 10-speed that creaked with every pedal rotation.

I fell on the sidewalk next to my building because I was trying sidesaddle my bike while holding a sheaf of papers on the handlebars. I dropped the papers, tried to catch them, leaned too far over, and went right over the bars. Because my right foot had clicked into the pedal, the bike landed on top of me.

I pulled the valve out of the tube just before a race by overtightening that little ring nut.

MasterSezFaster

I felt like I died one time because I did a century and only drank one water bottle and had not eaten any thing for 10hrs prior to the ride.

I bonked so hard one time that the last hill near home felt like I was on a 20% grade and pushing my 52/11 gear. When I looked down I realized I was pushing a 34/28 and the hill was only about 0.5% grade.

Have fallen over from not unclipping at a stop twice.

Have been dropped by a female cyclist twice.

Was dropped by an older rider (around 50) wearing long baggy pants with sandals who was riding a touring bike pulling a trailer filled with groceries.

In my first ever mtb race one of the experts ran an entire lap with his bike on his back and I could never pass him except on the dh portion. Then he would catch me and pass me on the flats and hills

duane041

This is wonderful! Nice to hear these stories.

here's mine, and I'm not a numbers guy:

-I have no idea what 53/21 or 38/25 is. At all. Even if it was explained, I would short-circuit and catch fire.
-I have yet to fall off my bike while clipped. But I did fall walking in my shoes while going to a water fountain............at a softball field...............with the local GIRLS HS softball team watching. Yeah, I'm pretty smooth.
-I would win the "Whitest Legs" contest. Don't even try to beat me.
-My helmet always seems to sit lopsided, making my already melon-sized head look even worse.
-I can climb any hill around my neighborhood, but I need to rest for a few minutes (possibly hours) before I can continue.
-Towards to end of a grueling ride, an adorable gal on a cruiser waved and said "hi", and I couldn't respond because I needed that breath just to stay alive.

You guys are SOOOOOOOOOOO jealous.

Duane

clausen

Great thread. I bet where actually in the majority around here. Just cant tell with all the smoke.

No Exit

I've never been on a road bike off of a trainer or outside.
I didnt know how to shift a road bike until last week.
Im not sure how to hold the handle bars on a road bike.
I have a mountain bike that's never seen dirt.
I've fallen over from my tire getting caught on a groove in a busy street and just laid there in a daze
I've hit a half wall with a barred fence over it, launched myself into said bars and walked home with welted lines down my forehead
I ordered my first road bike last week from a bike shop and Im afraid I have to test ride it when it gets in.
I took my mountain bike around the block (1.5 miles) and came home winded (this week)
I've never ridden long enough to require any amount of water
Im afraid of traffic and of dirt which leaves me the option of a trainer to ride on... I may as well have a stationary bike.
I want to ride but Im afraid to ask how... :/

voltman

I'm still afraid to let go of the handle bars to move my hands.

skinnyone

I have had ugly unclips thrice, once while asking directions in front of a female polcie officer and a beauty in her sunday best outside a church.
I was passed once by this woman on a fixie, when I was leading a group...
I was dropped by a dude in shorts and toe clips...
My legs are are skinny...
<snip>I constantly go too hard at the beginning of a ride or climb, then falter toward the end.</snip>
I have worn my CSC jersey only once in 3 months because I am afraid I will be called a poseur
I check out the bike before the gal...