Fun/tragic touring stories?
 

I figured we could all use some levity, so please give us a (brief) story! That is what traveling is for, as far as I am concerned. If I didn't have stories to tell after each trip, I wouldn't travel.

Well - -
There was Mimi at the bar at Quinn's Hot Springs in Montana.
But I think this site is G-rated.

No it isn't! Details please!

I was once attacked* by a pack of wild mountain dogs in Italy. I was only backpacking tho, not cycling.



*the term "attacked" is subject to interpretation, and may be an exaggeration by the author.

Well, on an offroad mountain bike solo trip twenty years ago, I: lost the weed, then dropped my sleeping bag off the top of my rack while tooling around in a field and had to backtrack to find it. Next day, popped a pannier off the rack on a speedy descent and caught it in my spokes, spitting it open.
Somehow lost the toilet paper, the main stash of matches, and my flashlight. Went back up hill but they were lost in the steep underbrush. Then, later that day, riding up hill, the single rack stay sheared at the bolt, leaving me to have to use bailing wire to rig the rack back to the bike.
The next day, as soon as I hit pavement, it began to torrentially downpour so there was six inches of rain on the roadway. Slept in the back porch of an oil company as there was no place dry to pitch tent. The next day, I aborted the trip and rode 100 miles on a loaded mountain bike with knobbies to end the ordeal.

That's (one of) my stories.

Some fun stories:

1) My 1st day of touring (rural Idaho), I took a break and lay on the edge of someone's front lawn. They didn't appear to be home. Alas, they came home then invited me in for water and Pepsi! While talking for 1hr, a rainstorm passed over.

2)As I struggled to ride up Lolo Pass on a hot August day, I dismounted and started pushing my bike. (not in shape yet). This guy pulled over in a pickup and gave me a lift to the summit. Two days later in Missoula, I ran into him at a bar, and we played 2-on-2 pool and nobody beat us for like 2hrs! Fun times.

3) I was stealth camping on a golf course in Rhode Island. While pitching my tent, I noticed a man watching me from his house window (200-300 yrs away). He didn't approach but I had a feeling he'd hassle me. The next morning he came over w/ 2 mugs of coffee and we chatted for 15 minutes!

My tragic story: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=73912

In the beginning of one tour, on a hot day, I was busy drinking in the middle of a slight descent. I did not pay enough attention and rode straight into a fairly big bump in the road. My handlebar bag got loose and ended up beneath my front wheel. The resulting crash was spectacular, it broke one of my rear pannier's attachments and generally spread my stuff all over the road. I got a severe case of road rash in both hands and legs and tore my shirt.

My touring friend helped me collect my belongings. After cleaning my wounds I was shaking so badly, I had to sit down for a while, have a shot of whisky, then duct tape my bags back together and onto the bike. Due to heat and my sweat no bandages would stay in place. So I just applied generous amounts of disinfecting liquid (not whisky) every now and then. Had to buy more of the stuff in the next town.

Judging by other people's comments in rest stops during the next couple of days my street credibility reached an all-time high. The wounds healed quickly and it became one of my better tours.

--J

Well, this didnt happen to me but i thought i would share it to you.

During the Summer of 2003 i went on a Tour of Europe with a bunch of kids my age (we were lead by two college aged kids). There was also a group of kids a few years younger then us that started the trip 50 miles ahead of us. We were touring Europe - London to Rome through Paris and Montreux (Switzerland) and were on Touring bikes with Panniers on the back. Around the 2/3 completion of the trip mark, we were in Switzerland and were on our shortest day of riding - only about 30 miles (we typically rode 60 - 90 miles a day) but that was because we were riding through the Nuefenen (sp?) Pass with its 24 Switch backs or so. The day before we started our ascent, the younger group of kids went through and told us of what happened to one of their kids.

On the way down the other side, this kid was riding 2nd to last (one of the leaders was bringing up the rear) when a motorcycle (these details are a little sketchy as to what exactly happened) cut him off. There are of course no barriers on the edge of the road but at this point there were little white blocks/poles for some reason. Needless to say, his panniers hit one of these poles and he crashed - doing a somersault and all. He ended up being airlifted out of the place, and was immediately put on a morphine-drip. He suffered serious road rash on his back/ass and was in a lot of pain. He was flown home a day or two later where he had an American doctor check him out. This doctor found something the Swiss had missed out - the kid had fractured his back in 12 places!

There were two more crashes after this one ... one happed 5 days from the end and no one is sure how she crashed, but she ended up breaking her elbow but road around in a car with the photographer for the rest of the trip. Then one of the leaders of the other group crashed on the last day of riding! and suffered a concussion. Most people on the trip fell too - mostly while stationary as it took a while to get used to all the added weight on the back of our bikes. As for me, i've only crashed once, going uphill of all things (have no idea how i did it since it was an open road) and couldnt sleep on my right side for a few weeks. The palm of my hand was swollen for a few days, and i can now crack my wrist when i turn it to the inside. Luckily, i was wearing long sleeves that day so only had carpet-burn type of thing of my elbow.

Many years ago I was on a road in central Switzerland and came across two touring cyclists going the other direction. We stopped and chatted. They were from the Tidewater Virginia area. One of them asked me if the next town had a bike shop. I asked him why. He said his rear wheel was badly out of true. I told him if he took his panniers off and turned his bike upside down, I could true it for him. He did, and I did.

Fast forward to two months later. I was in Dingle, Ireland, biking with a friend. We were staying at an unofficial hostel. The doorbell rang and I was closest so I went to open it. When I did, I saw two guys, one of whom said to me in a soft Virginia drawl, "Don't I know you from somewhere?". I was afraid to ask about his wheel, but he said his wheel had been fine since he met me. He bought me a pint that evening.

I was riding west in VA on the TransAmercia trail in a rural area, with homes about every 1/4 mile or so. There were no groves of trees or bushes to take a whiz, which I HAD to do in a fierce kind of way. Everytime I went around a bend in the road, I hoped to see a place at which I could relieve my kidneys. It was getting painful; I had drunk SO much water. This had gone on for miles.

I then hoped I might find a construction site, even a small one, because they usually have at least one Port-a-Potty on hand. Pleeeeeeease! I gotta go!

Another mile. No luck. No trees. No bushes. No Porta-Potties.

As I continued around another bend, I saw something miraculous to my right. It almost brought tears to mine eyes. My prayers have been answered!

There was not one, nor two, nor ten, nor twenty Port-A-Potties, but HUNDREDS of them, all lined up in neat rows. Green ones, blue ones, brown ones, and gray ones. I thinked I laughed out loud, but mainly felt in awe that some supernatural power had blessed me that day.

I rode into the dirt lot, and saw the Pottie Office to my right. I got off the bike, and figured I should ask permission, but I didn't run for fear that the romp would cause me to lose some. The office was closed.

Immediately, I chose their 2003 model with a small window and air vent, and entered. I'm sure my sighs could be heard by those living in the house on the nearby hill, and by passing motorists.

David in PA

LOL David - I'm sure that brings back memories of trespissing to everyone here.

Why wait?
When I'm out in Nevada there ain't a tree for miles.
When ya gotta go - ya gotta go.
Yeah, yeah - folks driving by inevitably honk - but so what?

As for Mimi - I was very, very drunk - and she was, too.
We'd been soaking in the hot springs - which lightens the head even more.
Now Mimi was of the extra-large variety.
Not the dumpling style - but of World War I tank construction.
Suffice it to say that she had no room directly in front of her on the bar to place her beer bottle.
I had no recollection - but the next morning in the showers a guy said to me,
"I can't believe what you did last night. You better watch out for Mimi."
My head was throbbing, but I had to know what happened.
Seems that at closing time I got up from my stool, reached around her, and did the kiddie bike horn "Honk-Honk".
Fortunately, I was up early and on my way before I had hell to pay.

May I add that those days are very-much-so over.

Best - J

Leaving Idaho Falls, Idaho, I came across 2 brothers who were touring across the country (I was riding from Denver to Jasper). These guys were crazed but great fun. They each had full-size wooden bowling pins upside down sticking out of each of their front panniers, so they could practice juggling with their 4 pins. We set up camp in an official state rest stop (which actually PERMITTED overnight camping!). A couple of miles back there had been a market. I rode back without my gear and bought a 4 liter jug of Carlo Rossi Rhine Wine. One of the two brothers must have drunk half of the jug himself. Late in the evening, he started to get pretty obnoxious and then finally passed out. He hadn't bothered to set up his tent, as the sky was clear and it was late July. Sometime during the night, I was awakened by some noise. I peered out of my tent. He was still on the ground inside his sleeping bag, and only his head was sticking out as he threw up into the grass. He apparently felt no pain in the morning, and they got an early start and headed into the mountains. I never saw them again.

I first described this incident in September 2004. But if you happened to miss it...

Last summer, while riding along a dirt road through a farmer's field in Ticino (the Italian part of Switzerland), I heard clanging brass bells, heavy snorts, and staccato thuds coming from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a herd of eight or ten cows in hot pursuit. I rode faster, but the cows ran faster, too. As I slowed to go around a bend, I realized I was about to be stampeded. I braked hard, skidded to a stop, dropped my bike, dove to the ground, and rolled under an electrical fence.

One cow gingerly approached my bike:

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...chmentid=16386

Then the others swaggered over. They slobbered all over the handlebars and water bottles, and butted their heads against the aerobars, brake hoods and wheels. From the other side of the fence, I yelled at them, flailed my arms, and blew a whistle to try to scare them away. They just glared at me as if to say, "What is wrong with you?"

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...chmentid=16387

After about ten minutes, they lost interest, and I was able to reclaim my bike -- sticky handlebars and all -- and continue on my way. During my "ordeal," I managed to fire off these two photos.

Alan

Afraid of a sweet little old cow? :D Seriously, I'd probably poop my pants if that many pounds of beef was running after me! My biggest phobia, when I'm on tour, are bears. I got chased by one as a kid and never forgot, although I have yet to run across one on tour. When in the desert, I get kind of freaked out about snakes sometimes, but a snake is WAY better than a bear.

That was my mom..... thanks alot pal :-)
Just kidding of course..
D

You know you never see this on peoples packing list, but you ask me a flask of whiskey is well worth the weight. I had a pint of Bushmills on my last tour and nothing beats a few swallows before bed, or that little spike of the coffee. And as you describe, sometimes there are situations that require a stiff drink.

cheers!