Worst ride ever?!!

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
ChrisP100
Posts: 298
Joined: 24 Sep 2020, 9:00am

Re: Worst ride ever?!!

Post by ChrisP100 »

Vorpal wrote:
ChrisP100 wrote:When I was 19 I had a pretty heavy steel frame MTB with a fairly basic 21-speed group set and cheap front suspension forks. I set off on a road ride from Warrington to Manchester with a single water bottle, and a jam butty. I only had a couple of quid, so not very well prepared at all.

I got to Manchester feeling quite chirpy, but then realised I had to get back, and there was only about an hour of daylight left. I had no lights...

I was one sorry mess when I got home.

It didn't put me off riding though.

I was a bit younger than you, when I did one of those, though I had the company of my younger brother viewtopic.php?f=7&t=123273&p=1250541#p1250541f=33&t=144718

I will say that we were fairly accustomed to longish distances & regularly rode a 38 mile route to visit family.

I wasn't unfortunately. I had been a fairly avid cyclist from around the age of 10 when I got my first racing bike. I progressed to a Dawes 5-Speed and up to the age of about 16 I used to ride everywhere, and would happily do 40 miles on a weekend ride. Then I discovered girls...

I probably hadn't done anything beyond about 5 miles since the age of 16, but just decided to do it on a whim. Not the best idea I've ever had. :lol:
cycle tramp
Posts: 3532
Joined: 5 Aug 2009, 7:22pm

Re: Worst ride ever?!!

Post by cycle tramp »

essexian wrote:
Sigh, I'm 60 this year and so wanted to do some of the epic trips most cyclists want to do, but I doubt I'll ever do and end to end at this rate....doubt I'll get 3 months off work if I do it at this rate!



Personally, I won't worry over much about it. One of the best tours I had was from Holyhead to Chepstow. Took a week and I cycled 30 to 40 miles a day which meant time for some sight seeing, looking at the views, stopping morning and afternoon tea breaks..
...it was so nice not to have to rush, or worry about average speeds or any of that malarkey. I'm not knocking those who go out for 100 miles in a day, but I know it's not for me. I'd like the time to enjoy my ride, to stop and remember stuff, visit a few interesting and historic places, perhaps a museum or two.
Motorhead: god was never on your sidehttps://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=m ... +your+side
Marcus Aurelius
Posts: 1903
Joined: 1 Feb 2018, 10:20am

Re: Worst ride ever?!!

Post by Marcus Aurelius »

I’ve just thought of another candidate for my worst ever ride, although it could go down as a mini victory as well. I bought a winter hack / hybrid, from Decathlon, a few years ago. I like to test my new bikes with a good ride, so I decided that 190 miles, in one go, should do it. The first 95 miles were pretty much as I expected, I made it to the ( roughly ) halfway point ( the Olympic velodrome in Stratford East London ), stopped, had something to eat and drink, then set off for home. The Garmin failed before I reached Richmond park, I got a rear tyre puncture before I reached Kingston ( Surrey, not Jamaica ). I sorted that, and cracked on. Everything was fine until I reached Four Marks ( Hampshire ) when I stopped. I had another puncture ( front wheel ) so my last spare tube went in. Then I took a wrong turn, and ended up god knows where. I tried to check the location on my phone, but the signal wasn’t good enough. So I winged it using road signs, looking for something I recognised. I ended up heading for Winchester, but using road signs, I ended up on the A32. My main lights ran out of charge, which left me with the little rubber blinky lights with which to see, on a busy main road, with no street lights. Somehow I didn’t get flattened by any of the big trucks and coaches that kept coming past, and made it to Winchester ( it was about 22:30 by now ). I was tired and hungry, and I had just drunk my last bit of water from my bottles. The last 10 miles of the ride were absolute hell, but I finally made it back to base at about 23:15. It hurt a lot the next day, but it proved a point ( or two ).
markjohnobrien
Posts: 1037
Joined: 4 Oct 2007, 8:15pm

Re: Worst ride ever?!!

Post by markjohnobrien »

2010, two weeks holiday in North Wales (Snowdonia) in June/July.

Bloody microclimate, it rained cats and digs every day (grrr) and made cycling a misery

Scenery was beautiful; I hate rain.

Remember standing on the battlements at Harlech (what an amazing castle in a wonderful spot) looking at the bright sunshine to the left on the Lynn peninsula; torrential rain to the right in Snowdonia.
Raleigh Randonneur 708 (Magura hydraulic brakes); Blue Raleigh Randonneur 708 dynamo; Pearson Compass 631 tourer; Dawes One Down 631 dynamo winter bike;Raleigh Travelogue 708 tourer dynamo; Kona Sutra; Trek 920 disc Sram Force.
markjohnobrien
Posts: 1037
Joined: 4 Oct 2007, 8:15pm

Re: Worst ride ever?!!

Post by markjohnobrien »

Another bad ride (but in a different sense).

Many, many, years ago, lights stolen from bike and I had to ride from Birmingham to North Nottinghamshire overnight.

Lots of unlit country roads so, every time I heard a vehicle, I hopped onto the grass verge to stop being squashed.

Once I approached urban areas, with street lighting, the ride was much easier.

These days, and for a long time, I carry spare lights and never, ever, leave any on a bike (apart from dynamo lights of course).
Raleigh Randonneur 708 (Magura hydraulic brakes); Blue Raleigh Randonneur 708 dynamo; Pearson Compass 631 tourer; Dawes One Down 631 dynamo winter bike;Raleigh Travelogue 708 tourer dynamo; Kona Sutra; Trek 920 disc Sram Force.
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