Ever feel really stupid?

Quoted message said:

About 17 miles in I caught a whiff of a nasty burning
smell. I got off the bike and looked it over, only to
discover MY REAR BRAKE WAS DRAGGING. D'oh!

Been there, done that (many years ago when a newbie). Ever
since then, I give my wheels a check spin while checking the
brake clearance before I hit the road.

On Sun, 30 May 2004 06:56:55 -0400, Badger_South <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I went out for a quick 'round the block ride to check my
new glasses mounted rear view mirror and forgot to double-
tie my shoelaces. The left lace got totally wrapped around
my pedal and was getting tighter and tighter with each rev.
trapping my foot against the pedal.

Tuck the loose ends under the tightened laces, or inside the
shoe. Didn't you learn that as a child? 😉
--
Rick Onanian

Zippy the Pinhead said:

How does the function of a glasses mounted rear view mirror
differ when on-bike vs when off-bike?

I sit or stand straight up when off the bike. Also, I don't
move at 20mph in the travel lane. How am I supposed to
guess, off the bike, where to point the mirror for when I'm
on the bike?
--
Rick "Never did mount that helmet mirror" Onanian

Ryan Cousineau said:

Steel frame, too many spokes, used a heavy aero rear
wheel, should have taken off my bike bell and empty bottle
cages (no water on the bike for a 12-minute TT...).

be sure to check out the "How much does Paint weigh?"
thread on rbt.

Quoted message said:

ObHardcore: I don't know how he placed, but one dude rode
the course on a fixed gear. He used about a 53/20.

how big of a hill was this? that's 72". ouch. my normal
gearing is 47/17 (75"😉 and i sure wouldn't be climbing
with that.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

Gooserider said:

I went for a ride today, a short 20 miler. I felt slow and
tired from the bike and looked it over, only to discover MY
REAR BRAKE WAS DRAGGING. D'oh!

I wish my slow-and-tired Saturday ride was a
mechanical issue.
--
Rick Onanian

"Rick Onanian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 30 May 2004 02:49:32 GMT, "Gooserider" <gooserider@mouse-

potato.com said:

I went for a ride today, a short 20 miler. I felt slow
and tired from the bike and looked it over, only to
discover MY REAR BRAKE WAS DRAGGING.

D'oh!

Quoted message said:

I wish my slow-and-tired Saturday ride was a
mechanical issue.
--
Rick Onanian

I've assembled a collection of "dumb things done" on my web
page here.
geo.net.aufunny cycling stories.htmOpen ↗

Marty

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bernie said:

Salut Tom The Tour de Gastown got me enjoying bike
races. (The last 2 are the only official bike races I've
ever attended). Unfortunately, I won't be attending the
Yaletown Crit. I've booked a week in a little hideout in
the S. Okanagan for me n my sweetie. We may get up to 10
mph on our way down the Okanagan River path to Oliver
for a visit to the Frostee Freeze (or whatever they call
it nowadays) , but we plan to leave early to avoid the
rush. 🙂

Well, that sounds like a pretty good way to spend some time,
too. It's been a long time since I've been in the 0kanagan,
but I've had some enjoyable rides up at my brother's place
in the Thompson River benchlands. There seems to be a
'bumper crop' of grasshoppers this year. Highway 97 is sure
different from urban street riding; it's a luxuriant
pleasure for the most part. I actually saw other riders on
there for the first time, when I was up there last (mid
May). Most of them, i think, were headed for Kamloops. I
even got to ride through a little F-0.something tornado-like
downburst. Well, actually I stopped and just waited while it
swept over me. With wind and bugs, cycling glasses are sure
good to have up there.

Didn't see any rattlesnakes, but I was sorta hoping. I
wanted to see if, when a sunbathing rattlesnake is blocking
one's path, it could be distracted by warming a penny a
little with a Bic lighter, and tossing it to the far side of
the snake, but close enough to catch its interest. As long
as the poor li'l bugger doesn't chip a tooth on the penny.
But they're fast and they ain't stupid, so my experiment
could very well fail. Plan B (plan A, really) is just to
give them a wide berth and avoid bothering them.

Don't forget to take a camera with you.

Quoted message said:

Enjoy the race! I'll look for your comments when I get
home. Bernie

I've already bought a little cowbell at the Unifeed store
in Ashcroft. I might scout around the course in the next
couple of days, looking for a spot with a good view.
Maybe I'll finally buy one of those disposable cameras
and snap some pix.

Wishing you good weather & a good time, Tom

--
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In article <[email hidden]>,

Ryan Cousineau said:

I think I will. I'll have to make sure I'm off early
(easy) for that race, but it galls me slightly to pay $35
for what will be (for me) a 30-minute crit.

Ask me closer to the race if I have registered, but all
signs point to yes.

You need a sponsor ;-)

cheers, Tom

--
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Tom Keats said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Bernie <bmcilvan@mouse-

potato.com said:

Salut Tom The Tour de Gastown got me enjoying bike
races. (The last 2 are the only official bike races I've
ever attended). Unfortunately, I won't be attending the
Yaletown Crit. I've booked a week in a little hideout in
the S. Okanagan for me n my sweetie. We may get up to 10
mph on our way down the Okanagan River path to Oliver
for a visit to the Frostee Freeze (or whatever they call
it nowadays) , but we plan to leave early to avoid the
rush. 🙂

Well, that sounds like a pretty good way to spend some
time, too. It's been a long time since I've been in the
0kanagan, but I've had some enjoyable rides up at my
brother's place in the Thompson River benchlands. There
seems to be a 'bumper crop' of grasshoppers this year.
Highway 97 is sure different from urban street riding; it's
a luxuriant pleasure for the most part. I actually saw
other riders on there for the first time, when I was up
there last (mid May). Most of them, i think, were headed
for Kamloops. I even got to ride through a little F-
0.something tornado-like downburst. Well, actually I
stopped and just waited while it swept over me. With wind
and bugs, cycling glasses are sure good to have up there.

Didn't see any rattlesnakes, but I was sorta hoping. I
wanted to see if, when a sunbathing rattlesnake is blocking
one's path, it could be distracted by warming a penny a
little with a Bic lighter, and tossing it to the far side
of the snake, but close enough to catch its interest. As
long as the poor li'l bugger doesn't chip a tooth on the
penny. But they're fast and they ain't stupid, so my
experiment could very well fail. Plan B (plan A, really) is
just to give them a wide berth and avoid bothering them.

Don't forget to take a camera with you.

Quoted message said:

Enjoy the race! I'll look for your comments when I get
home. Bernie

I've already bought a little cowbell at the Unifeed store
in Ashcroft. I might scout around the course in the next
couple of days, looking for a spot with a good view. Maybe
I'll finally buy one of those disposable cameras and snap
some pix.

Wishing you good weather & a good time, Tom

Thanks very much Tom I'm long overdue to decompress from the
workaday world. I will bring my camera too. Remember you can
have any film digitized these days, and get a cd as well as
prints. It'd be cool if you post your visual impressions. Be
calm and respectful if you meet rattlers.. they ain't really
smart, just loaded with pre programmed reactions - you are
the smart one on these encounters, ok? I like that S Cariboo
country you are visiting these days too, but IMO, the S
Okanagan has a ton of relaxing to offer in the warm months,
anyway. Are you a trout fisherman? The Thompson is one of
the blue ribbon streams of the world ... loaded with stream
rainbows. Very special in my eyes. Learn to flog a basic wet
fly and you might be well rewarded! FWIW, we are not fishing
or doing anything special, aside from hanging out and
getting comfortable. I expect bird watching will be most
important, combined with some bicycle trail rides. Anyhoo,
it's still a month away. Good to hear from you. Best
regards, Bernie

In article <[email hidden]>, "Gooserider"

Quoted message said:

I went for a ride today, a short 20 miler. I felt slow and
tired from the outset, and couldn't get my speed above
17mph on my road bike. I'm dieting, and there was a
headwind, so I chalked my slowness and tiredness up to
that. About 17 miles in I caught a whiff of a nasty burning
smell. I got off the bike and looked it over, only to
discover MY REAR BRAKE WAS DRAGGING. D'oh! I was much
faster on the way home......

One reason why the cycle gods invented road rash and bonk.

In article <[email hidden]>,

(whinds) said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Gooserider said:

I went for a ride today, a short 20 miler. I felt slow and
tired from the outset, and couldn't get my speed above
17mph on my road bike. I'm dieting, and there was a
headwind, so I chalked my slowness and tiredness up to
that. About 17 miles in I caught a whiff of a nasty
burning smell. I got off the bike and looked it over, only
to discover MY REAR BRAKE WAS DRAGGING. D'oh! I was much
faster on the way home......

One reason why the cycle gods invented road rash and bonk.

For every hubris there's an equal & opposite nemesis.

I guess road rash and bonk (and other nasty have-to-put-up-
withs) are the Sieve of Heaven. Separate the wheat from
the chaff.

Waitaminnit ... no! Cycling doesn't have to be an ordeal. It
just has a propensity to become one if we let it, or
subconsciously steer it that way. And I /have/ let it, so
many times. But I guess I've become endeared to the learning
experiences that cycling so often provides. Especially the
'curve balls' it sometimes throws us. Keeps us on our toes
(as it were.)

So, maybe the cycle gods invented road rash and bonk just to
teach us about ourselves? Anyhow, I don't think they want to
outright kill us. They just want to hurt us a little (the
rotten, meanie [censored].) Maybe that's also why the cycle
gods invented leg cramps. Maybe leg cramps aren't so much a
symptom to eradicate, as a feedback mechanism to hearken to?
In my own case, leg cramps tell me I need a good sleep.

cheers, & I'm in big trouble now for blaspheming at the
cycle gods (those rotten, meanie [censored],) Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Tom Keats said:

Waitaminnit ... no! Cycling doesn't have to be an ordeal.
It just has a propensity to become one if we let it, or
subconsciously steer it that way. And I /have/ let it, so
many times. But I guess I've become endeared to the
learning experiences that cycling so often provides.
Especially the 'curve balls' it sometimes throws us. Keeps
us on our toes (as it were.)

A couple times I've passed a woman cycling along the Burke
Gillman trail. She's always smiling away as if she can't
imagine anything more wonderful than being on her bicycle.
She's not the fastest person, nor riding the best bike, nor
the dressed the most Fabrizioly. But she's certainly having
a good time.

A lot of time I'm in such a rush to get from home to work,
from work to home, or thinking about anything but cycling,
that I really forget to actually enjoy it. I see her smiling
and I realize I really like riding a bike. That even in the
rain, wind, darkness, or whatever else may come I should
stop being such a noodge and relax.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r
g "Hello," he lied. -- Don Carpenter, quoting a
Hollywood agent

Gooserider said:

I went for a ride today, a short 20 miler. I felt slow and
tired from the outset, and couldn't get my speed above
17mph on my road bike. I'm dieting, and there was a
headwind, so I chalked my slowness and tiredness up to
that. About 17 miles in I caught a whiff of a nasty
burning smell. I got off the bike and looked it over, only
to discover MY REAR BRAKE WAS DRAGGING. D'oh! I was much
faster on the way home......

Yesterday I took my car to the garage and loaded my bike on
the roof so I could get back home. I drove in my bikeshoes
since they never bothered me (SPD). It felt a little strange
however but I was all concerned with how much this
garagetrip was going to cost me etc. When I'd left the car
and mounted my bike to ride home I couldn't clip in. No
wonder, I had my roadie shoes on with the SPD-SL cleats
trying to clip into my SPD pedals. I could barely make it
home being very, very careful.
--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Per Elmsäter said:

Yesterday I took my car to the garage and loaded my bike
on the roof so I could get back home. I drove in my
bikeshoes since they never bothered me (SPD). It felt a
little strange however but I was all concerned with how
much this garagetrip was going to cost me etc. When I'd
left the car and mounted my bike to ride home I couldn't
clip in. No wonder, I had my roadie shoes on with the SPD-
SL cleats trying to clip into my SPD pedals. I could
barely make it home being very, very careful.

Perre:

was the stupid part bringing the wrong shoes, or having two
types of clipless pedals on your bikes?

Just asking,
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden]
sfu.cawiredcolaOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I took my car to the garage and loaded my bike
on the roof so I could get back home. I drove in my
bikeshoes since they never bothered me (SPD). It felt a
little strange however but I was all concerned with how
much this garagetrip was going to cost me etc. When I'd
left the car and mounted my bike to ride home I couldn't
clip in. No wonder, I had my roadie shoes on with the SPD-
SL cleats trying to clip into my SPD pedals. I could
barely make it home being very, very careful.

I can do you one better, or maybe its one worse. The other
day, I got home early and rushed to get a quick ride in
before dark. Left foot in and off I go. But try as I might,
I couldn't get my right foot in. I figured I had damaged the
cleat somehow. I gave up after 15 minutes and headed home.
When I got there I realized, I still had the cleat cover on.

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Per Elmsäter said:

Yesterday I took my car to the garage and loaded my bike
on the roof so I could get back home. I drove in my
bikeshoes since they never bothered me (SPD). It felt a
little strange however but I was all concerned with how
much this garagetrip was going to cost me etc. When I'd
left the car and mounted my bike to ride home I couldn't
clip in. No wonder, I had my roadie shoes on with the SPD-
SL cleats trying to clip into my SPD pedals. I could
barely make it home being very, very careful.

Perre:

was the stupid part bringing the wrong shoes, or having
two types of clipless pedals on your bikes?

Just asking,

A civil question requires a civil response. What's really
stupid is that the two shoes look almost identical except
for a small color difference. SH-R214 and SH-M221 I had SPD
pedals on my roadbike at first in order to keep my systems
down to one. However the balls of my feet got so numb from
the SPD cleats on long rides that I had to change. With the
bigger SPD-SL or LOOK type cleats I can ride forever as far
as my feet are concerned.

But. I hope for your sake that, Fabrizio never reads your
question. He and I know that of course on a roadbike you
have roadie pedals. Possibly he'd get on my case for not
using the more fashionable Time Attacks.

Thankyou for coming straight out instead of stabbing me in
the back like this Badger character did.
--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Richard Stanz said:

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I took my car to the garage and loaded my bike
on the roof so I could get back home. I drove in my
bikeshoes since they never bothered me (SPD). It felt a
little strange however but I was all concerned with how
much this garagetrip was going to cost me etc. When I'd
left the car and mounted my bike to ride home I couldn't
clip in. No wonder, I had my roadie shoes on with the SPD-
SL cleats trying to clip into my SPD pedals. I could
barely make it home being very, very careful.

I can do you one better, or maybe its one worse. The other
day, I got home early and rushed to get a quick ride in
before dark. Left foot in and off I go. But try as I
might, I couldn't get my right foot in. I figured I had
damaged the cleat somehow. I gave up after 15 minutes and
headed home. When I got there I realized, I still had the
cleat cover on.

That was just a typical example of higher powers at work.
You were not supposed to go out that night and it probably
saved your life.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Richard Stanz said:

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Yesterday I took my car to the garage and loaded my bike
on the roof so I could get back home. I drove in my
bikeshoes since they never bothered me (SPD). It felt a
little strange however but I was all concerned with how
much this garagetrip was going to cost me etc. When I'd
left the car and mounted my bike to ride home I couldn't
clip in. No wonder, I had my roadie shoes on with the SPD-
SL cleats trying to clip into my SPD pedals. I could
barely make it home being very, very careful.

I can do you one better, or maybe its one worse. The other
day, I got home early and rushed to get a quick ride in
before dark. Left foot in and off I go. But try as I
might, I couldn't get my right foot in. I figured I had
damaged the cleat somehow. I gave up after 15 minutes and
headed home. When I got there I realized, I still had the
cleat cover on.

Ding ding ding! No more calls, please; we have a winner.

Bill "nice one" S.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Per Elmsäter said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

clip in. No wonder, I had my roadie shoes on with the
SPD-SL cleats trying to clip into my SPD pedals. I
could barely make it home being very, very careful.

Perre:

was the stupid part bringing the wrong shoes, or having
two types of clipless pedals on your bikes?

Quoted message said:

A civil question requires a civil response. What's really
stupid is that the two shoes look almost identical except
for a small color difference. SH-R214 and SH-M221 I had
SPD pedals on my roadbike at first in order to keep my
systems down to one. However the balls of my feet got so
numb from the SPD cleats on long rides that I had to
change. With the bigger SPD-SL or LOOK type cleats I can
ride forever as far as my feet are concerned.

Heh. That was a far more reasonable response than my
question deserved. Time to paint one pair of shoes, or look
into shoes with firmer soles.

Quoted message said:

But. I hope for your sake that, Fabrizio never reads your
question. He and I know that of course on a roadbike you
have roadie pedals. Possibly he'd get on my case for not
using the more fashionable Time Attacks.

Well, perhaps, though I think SPD-SLs are barely acceptable
(except that that's what Lance uses, and Fabrizio hates
Lance). What he would be one you about was having any bikes
with SPDs at all. The only permissible alternate bike is a
cyclocross machine which may use Time ATAC pedals or Crank
Bros. Eggbeater Triple Ti pedals. Your road, Roubaix, TT,
and hillclimb bikes should all use an approved road pedal,
of which there are several, but not SPDs.

Quoted message said:

Thankyou for coming straight out instead of stabbing me in
the back like this Badger character did.

Ah, I'm just showing the cruelty of the cheap, bragging
about my fully standardized collection of SPD pedals.

SPDs are great: they clear mud badly, they're not ideal for
road work, but at least they're really cheap.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden]
sfu.cawiredcolaOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Per Elmsäter said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> clip in. No wonder, I had my roadie shoes on with the
> SPD-SL cleats trying to clip into my SPD pedals. I
> could barely make it home being very, very careful.

Perre:

was the stupid part bringing the wrong shoes, or having
two types of clipless pedals on your bikes?

Quoted message said:

A civil question requires a civil response. What's really
stupid is that the two shoes look almost identical except
for a small color difference. SH-R214 and SH-M221 I had
SPD pedals on my roadbike at first in order to keep my
systems down to one. However the balls of my feet got so
numb from the SPD cleats on long rides that I had to
change. With the bigger SPD-SL or LOOK type cleats I can
ride forever as far as my feet are concerned.

Heh. That was a far more reasonable response than my
question deserved. Time to paint one pair of shoes, or
look into shoes with firmer soles.

The paint job might do the trick. I doubt I could get a
firmer sole since it is an all out carbon sole already on
both shoes. Actually one is gunmetal and the other one
silver. Easy enough to distinguish side by side, but not
one by one.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But. I hope for your sake that, Fabrizio never reads your
question. He and I know that of course on a roadbike you
have roadie pedals. Possibly he'd get on my case for not
using the more fashionable Time Attacks.

Well, perhaps, though I think SPD-SLs are barely
acceptable (except that that's what Lance uses, and
Fabrizio hates Lance). What he would be one you about was
having any bikes with SPDs at all. The only permissible
alternate bike is a cyclocross machine which may use Time
ATAC pedals or Crank Bros. Eggbeater Triple Ti pedals.
Your road, Roubaix, TT, and hillclimb bikes should all use
an approved road pedal, of which there are several, but
not SPDs.

I'll keep this in mind. Lance is my biggest idol today but
Fabrizio does come in a distant second.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thankyou for coming straight out instead of stabbing me
in the back like this Badger character did.

Ah, I'm just showing the cruelty of the cheap, bragging
about my fully standardized collection of SPD pedals.

I knew it and that is why I replied in such a civil manner.
See how it took all the venom out of you 😉

Quoted message said:

SPDs are great: they clear mud badly, they're not ideal
for road work, but at least they're really cheap.

Mine weren't exactly cheap but I agree on the other counts
😉
--
Perre
Can't afford to have any more backstabbers around