terrymorse 

My General Manager insisted that any "lightly scuffed" helmet got broken in two before being tossed in the dumpster. To the chagrin of a few dumpster divers.

Bah Humbug

I cut the straps of my used helmets before disposal for just that reason.

big john

On a hot day I was finishing a century with friends who were riding their tandem. We were whipped and just crawling the last couple miles when a guy on some old beater bike roars up alongside us on the sidewalk. He snarled at us and hammered ahead with his driveside crank banging against his chainguard. We tried to ignore him but he wouldn't go away. He hung around taunting us until he got bored, I guess, and turned off.

Calsun

On my trips from my parents house in the Los Angeles area to university in northern California I would stop in San Franisco and then ride my bike up the hills and "race" the trolley cars. I got a lot of enjoyment in beating the trolley cars up the steep hills.

Carbonfiberboy 

Wow, that's me on my first road bike in 1963. That was a full-Campy Legnano though and I had rat traps and toe clips, tightened right down over my tennis shoes, which had grooves worn in the soles from those rat traps. I hope your bike has a leather saddle for authenticity. You need those toe clips! Can't Really Ride without 'em. Back then, no one wore a helmet, not even the folks who rode track bikes in NYC - or maybe especially not.

My bike had color-coordinated bar tape and down-tube shifters instead of those genital-rippers, and had covers on its center-pull brake hoods. Looks like you might have half-step gearing like I had.

CliffordK

There are very few places I could stop for 3 minutes and expect some random road cyclist to show up.

I've passed numerous MTBs on hills. In some cases, I hit the top, down the other side, and up the next hill before the MTB gets to the top. It is hard to call it much of a competition.

beng1

This bike had a metal "Persons" saddle when it was new and it still has it, covered by a little foam and vinyl. Leather saddles were never put on any low-end bikes. And it is proven through research that foot retention gives no advantage, unless you are so used to pedaling with foot retention that you have lost the coordination and muscle memory to keep your feet on the pedals without it......

tomato coupe

How did all those pro cyclists lose their coordination and muscle memory?

Carbonfiberboy 

(shakes head) I've been riding bikes since I was 6, rode to school in the 1st grade. Grew up in Fairbanks, would go on a 60 mile ride on my 3-speed JC Higgins when I was I guess 13. No foot retention, nope.

My freshman year in college, this wealthy kid down the hall wanted to sell his bike. They were all wealthy kids down the hall where I went It seemed like everyone in my hall except me had two 800s. Anyway, I bought it for $150 and finally had a real bike, a TDF level machine. It came with foot retention. The very first time I ever rode it, it was a revelation. I was turbine powered! It felt like I could do a power wheelie. Couldn't quite, but if there was a little pavement irregularity, I could get the front wheel off the ground just accelerating. Of course I was an experienced rider, already knew how to pedal and had strong legs from riding and skiing. That probably made a difference.

All that said, it did take me a long time to learn to pedal at what seemed to me to be a stupidly high cadence. But ya know . .. there might be a reason that I've never seen a bike on a group ride without foot retention. It's not fashion, nope.

bbbean 

Cool story, bro.

SoSmellyAir

It was the soigneur's fault; what, you did not know that muscles can lose their memories from improper massages!?