Aren't Bicycles Great.

esuhl

Whilst I can (just about) imagine cycling 40-odd miles, the thoughts of walking 6 or 7 miles fills me with dread! Aren't bicycles great! :-)

brat

I've so far been extremely lucky with bike 'mechanicals'. I've managed to continue with running repairs on most occasions. My rear derailleur sheared in April, but I contacted my wife who was less than 10 minutes away to come to pick me up. My recent accident was only 200 metres from home.

My 'best fun' mechanical was when my mech hanger snapped near the top of Kirkstone summit, rendering my bike unpedallable. I was with a friend at the time. We headed home, a downhill of nearly 1000 feet, then we had 7 miles flat and uphill to my LBS. I had already changed a tube earlier on the ride, so my friend attached the tube round his seatpost, and I held on to the other end, and he towed me the 7 miles back to the LBS where they sorted me a singlespeed for the remainder of my trip. At one point we were doing 28mph in tandem!

Ain't bikes great!!

esuhl

brat wrote: »

My 'best fun' mechanical was when my mech hanger snapped near the top of Kirkstone summit, rendering my bike unpedallable. I was with a friend at the time. We headed home, a downhill of nearly 1000 feet, then we had 7 miles flat and uphill to my LBS. I had already changed a tube earlier on the ride, so my friend attached the tube round his seatpost, and I held on to the other end, and he towed me the 7 miles back to the LBS where they sorted me a singlespeed for the remainder of my trip. At one point we were doing 28mph in tandem!

Ha ha! Genius! :rotfl:

I've been pretty lucky too. My front brake randomly "exploded" when I was 15 miles from home and unable to remove the front wheel... Fortunately I was about 15 metres from an open bike shop who kindly removed the buckled pads and clip free of charge! What are the odds?!

The worst was when some git nicked my rear light so I rode home on the pavement for 6 miles. It seemed to take ages even though it was deserted and some of it was shared cycle/pedestrian space. Some of those shared paths are really dangerous unless you ride at walking speed.

But anyway: that's another good thing about bikes. They're mechanically simple and everything is exposed so you don't have to be an expert with lots of tools to maintain them safely. Almost as soon as you can get new parts delivered, you can be back out riding again! Ain't bikes great! :-)

Johnmcl7

I've seen a few mech hangers go on rides just out of the blue so if I get one that works I'll be ordering a backup one to carry with me. If I'd been further from home I'd have got the chain broken and put it into single speed but as it was, just easier to roll it along and a bit of walking although I may have been a lot more annoyed if it wasn't such a pleasant night.

One of the members of the group did offer to push me along but the rolling resistance is huge on the fat bike so I didn't think that would work too well.

Definitely agree regarding the mechanical simplicity plus it's feasible to have more than one so not completely off the road either.

John

cinderfella

Yes bicycles are pretty fantastic, the only problem being of course hills.
They form the main means of transport in many Dutch towns.
How I would love to do the weekly shop using a bike & trailer.:)

Throbbe

Reflecting on my first year on a road bike it's been generally very good. Starting a new (busier, and less commutable by bike) job has cut down on the riding, but I've done a coast to coast ride, taken part in the Tour of Cambridgeshire, found a few like minded herberts to ride with of a sunday, lost a bit of weight, and am probably as fit now as I've been in a long time. Only one unplanned dismount, and that at low speed so nothing broken. All in, a good year, and a new bike definitely added to my enthusiasm.


I've planned a few 100 mile+ sportives for next year, and will actively seek out some hills (not easy living on the outskirts of the fens). I might even give time trialling a go (although I fear it will lead to considerable expense!). Youngest Throbblet learned to ride this year, and is expecting a new bike from Santa, so I'm also looking forward to some family bike rides once the weather gets nicer.

Johnmcl7

I'm pleased with my cycling this year as well, I didn't manage my 100 miles yet which I'm a little disappointed with but as I was building up to it I got spooked out by some very near misses. On the plus side though I did manage all the way round Loch Ness for the first time which I've wanted to do for ages (70 miles), took part in my first Strathpuffer (a winter endurance event) and my first Ten under the Bent (a summer endurance event) plus seven races in total. I'm not even a race sort of person, just do it for a change and only ever done two races (total) in the past.

I had the MTB looked at today and it's not the mech hanger it's actually the derailleur which is damaged, it's broken at the top and the bottom part with the jockey wheels is quite mangled. Which is a bit annoying but the damage is done now.

John

armyknife

Good going guys, reminds me I need to plan some rather more adventurous bike trips for next year.

Effyb4

Reflecting on my cycling this year, I started off driving to work most days and going out on the bike occasionally. In July we gave up the car. I now either cycle or take the bus to work. We walk or cycle short journeys and we have even bought a bicycle trailer for shopping trips. I have cycled a total of 2,360 miles.

armyknife

Effyb4 wrote: »

Reflecting on my cycling this year, I started off driving to work most days and going out on the bike occasionally. In July we gave up the car. I now either cycle or take the bus to work. We walk or cycle short journeys and we have even bought a bicycle trailer for shopping trips. I have cycled a total of 2,360 miles.

Effyb4, that's a pretty impressive transport transition.