Worst ride

[Lazy legs]

I had my worst training ride ever this morning! I cycle to work 3 days a week and depending on the route it’s between 50 to 56km. In the afternoons my brother gives me a lift home; problem is the next day I have to get my work clothes to the office for the … next day. (Confusing)
Yesterday when I packed my stuff for today I didn’t notice that my “Cateye” stayed behind in my bag and was now waiting for me in the office!
Enough background, my day started like this.
Didn’t hear the alarm go of @ 5 and only woke up @ 5:30. I rushed to get ready and then couldn’t find the damn Cateye, now I was peeved off. I don’t have a HRM so I use my Cateye to pace myself. Because I was late I decided to take the shortest route to try and make up some time.
12k’s into my ride I got a “flattie”, by this time I knew I that I should have stayed in bed this morning. After fixing the puncture I got back on the road in time for the big rush to school and work for all the people in their cars and I'm stuck in the middle of Pretoria, normally I'm on the other side of town already at that time of the morning.
I got pushed off the road by a bus about 5k’s further down the road, now I was fuming!
About 10k’s further a car with 3 ladies in pulled away when I was about 3 meters from them doing about 25Km/H. I caught up with them at the next robot and gave them a piece of my mind and they just laughed at me. When they passed me again about 500m down the road she nearly left half of her cars paint on my thigh.
I cooled down and decided to concentrate on my ride and 6K’s before the end I got another flattie. While I was busy fixing it my brother came past and I decided to call it a day, and loaded my bike on the back of his pick-up.
Please tell me about your worst ride, training or race, so that I can feel better!

 

[Vo2]

Libert Ride for Sight 2002:

I remember it been quite cold the morning.
The ride went well until we hit what I now reckon is the worst wind I've ever cycled in: a continous corn field bender straight from the front. Even worse is the fact that the race is hilly, very hilly.
To cut a long story short, by the time I had 10 k's to go, I was completely dehydrated. I had no power left, not even enough to unclip my feet. I was busy halucinating, talking to myself and had lost the sight in my left eye. The last 5 k's took me about 30 minutes to complete. As I went over the line, I just keeled over while still on the bike and my feet still clipped in. I puked on and off for the rest of the day. Thank God my wife was there to get me home, or I would've died next to the road.
Ah, the joys of cycling...

 

[Chris_L]

Simply put: riding to work in a dust storm last year. I nearly died as a result. I spent most of the ride wishing I had died. I will never do that again ever.

Hopefully we'll get enough rain to break this @#$&ing drought soon and I'll never have to put up with it ever again.

 

[nomad]

Did a Race in Sweden a few years ago, it's called "Vättern runt" and is 300km. It's not serious racing and usually has about 16000 cyclists signing up. That year it was okay for the first few K's but soon started raining and as I came to the southernmost part of the route it was 6 degrees celcius and pissing down, this continued for most of the rest of the race and increased to tropical thunderstorm at worst. The water was 20cm deep on the road and flooding over the footpaths along the side.

You would beleive that a circular track around a large lake would give you tailwind at least part of the time, but not this time, headwind from start to finish and it eventually rained during 250 of those 300kms. I swore I was never going to do it again but there must be something wrong with my head )