Conference noted::bicycle

Sorry nothing comes to mind that compares but give me a few days and I'll
think of something.  

Then again I really don't try to remember these events.

Better luck next week,

Tom

    Once upon a time I started my bike computer while climbing a hill
    out of the saddle.  Yesterday, I gave a left turn signal while in the
    same position, but with less disastrous results.  ;-)  I do not intend
    to continue perfecting the technique.
    
    ed

    I once lost the display on my Avocet and thought that the sensor
    was misaligned with the front hub magnet.  Well...  I leaned over
    the handlebar and attempted to adjust the sensor it "on-the-fly".
    
    While this is among the most stupid things I have done--on or off
    a bike, I got away with it... ; )
    
    
    r^2

I ran through some glass, or thought I did, and leaned over
with my gloves to clean off the tire, little did I know a
parked car was in front of me. Ouch.

steve

    Last year I had just finished a Mt bike ride, put my helmet down, put
    my bike in the truck and forgot about my helmet. I backed up and
    proceeded to drive forward over my helmet. I must say at least the
    truck did go up in the air a bit before it smushed the helmet. $50
    bucks down the drain in 1 second.
    
    I now place my helmet in the bed of the truck while I put the bike in
    the rack.
    
    And of course there is the time I saw a good jump up a head right next
    to a small tree, the only problem was that I didn't look ahead to see
    the larger tree right in back of the small tree. I took the larger tree
    on the right shoulder which thru me off the bike all before I ever
    realized that a 2nd tree existed. That shoulder payed me back for over
    a month. I now tend to look a little closer before going nuts.
    
    Alan
                                         

    Nothing specific, but I seem to get befuddled when I'm preparing to go
    for a ride (or getting the bike ready after transporting it by car). 
    Seems I can't get started without going into the house three or four
    times:  Fill up the bottle, now what? - Oh, shoes, they're back inside,
    now I'm ready - whoops, where were those dark glasses?  Likewise I
    can't seem to get the bike off the car and ready to go without unlocking
    and relocking the car at least three times.  Same thing - lock the car,
    realize I need shoes, unlock the car, put on shoes, lock the car,
    realize I need a helmet - you get the idea.
    ---------------------------------
    When I was quite young I found out that my spiffy Raleigh three-speed
    would not turn 180 degrees in the width of a two-lane road at high
    speed.  It turned 90 degrees before I hit the curb and took flight. 
    This was before the days of helmets so I was very fortunate to come out
    of it with nothing worse than scrapes and a seriously bent fork.  I
    only made that mistake once.
    
    Andy

    Boy, I feel much better now...  But, how come no admissions from the
    big-mile or racing folks?  Don't I remember someone jumping a Merlin
    over some fallen riders?
    
    And how come the only dumb things seem to have been from men?  Don't
    women riders do dumb things?  C'mon ladies, fess up!

     Okay, okay... I did do jump the Merlin. That was an act of survival,
    however. 
    
     I was in a big hurry (oncoming traffic) at an intersection once. I had
    stopped like a good boy. I hurridly when to engage my right foot into
    the pedal while taking a mild left hand turn at the same time and
    shoved my foot through my spokes. 
    
     End of ride...
    
       Chip

    
    My name's Graham and... I am...  a...  (gulp, whispers hoarsely)
    cycling moron....
    
    You asked for racing ones, well...  About 6 years ago, I was in my
    division RR champs and felt really good...  Too good...  You see there
    comes a confidence problem when you become too focussed on the ride
    that you forget the silly things like, what way do we go...
    
    There was a really sharp left hand corner on the course and I thought,
    I want to take that one first to avoid an inevitable crash. Good, eh?
    No...  That was the TT corner, the RR turned 2 miles further down the
    road....
    
    Yours,
    Graham with a crimson face...

    well, ya see, once back in 87, I was starting out on a ride and I
    had observed another cyclist going slowly up the road a bit, say
    100 ft, and I looked down to reset my computer and beep - beep
    set it the way I wanted it, and bumped into the other rider
    accelerating him, decelerating me, and, blush, falling, and
    bending the deraileur hanger on my Trek 2000 and my Dura Ace deraileur.
    
    ed

    Being new to the area, I accidentally rode thru the minimum security
    prison in Lancaster, MA.  I was trying to cut off a corner and save
    a minute or two, and the entrance I took said something about a state
    agricultural facility; nothing about the prison next door.  About
    halfway thru it donned on me that something wasn't quite right.
    KB
    

    	Kratz,
    
    	If they had known who you were, they'd have kept you...
    
    	FOR LIFE! 8-)>
    
    	Scott

I'd been taking some medication, including an antibiotic, and they were making
me clumsy and forgetful.  None of the medications had a label other than the
one on the antibiotic reminding me to take all of the medication.

I got up Saturday morning and took the medications, ate a piece of bread, and
got ready to go on the 25 mile group ride.  Everything was fine until about 15
miles into the ride when my stomach started to get upset.  I switched from my
gatorade bottle to the plain water bottle, but that didn't seem to help and in
fact, drinking seemed to make things worse.  However, with the temps in the
90's, drinking was required.  Soon, I felt like I was going to vomit and had
great difficulty riding. A while later, the guy pulling his kid in a trailer
caught and passed me, but not before asking if I was ok.  I struggled the rest
of the way and was the last person to finish.  I was feeling pretty bad, so I
had some bread and water with the group and headed home.

I knew I wasn't feeling good, so I concentrated on driving carefully.  I pulled
into the driveway, hit the door opener button, and attempted to drive into the
garage with my bike firmly attached to the roof rack on my car.  When things
came to a sudden halt, I discovered the seat was now firmly wedged between the
garage door and the garage frame.  I briefly considered driving forward as my
seat was already torn up, but realized the rear wheel would never fit under the
garage door.  Backing up wasn't an option as it appeared that I would do more
damage to the garage door.  The only thing to do was to lower the seat so I
could remove the bike.  I loosend the seat post screw, but the seat wouldn't go
down, so I started lossening the screw that holds the seat to the seat post.
As I loosened the screw, the seat tilted and the car rose up.  I guess I had
managed to compress the shocks and springs pretty good.  As the screw came out,
the seat and parts went flying everywhere.  I was finally able to get the bike
down and assess the damage.

On the bike, the frame appears intact, obviously a new seat is needed, and a
spoke on the rear wheel was broken.  I'm waiting to hear from the shop about
any other damage.  On the bike rack, both crossbars are bent, but I only
replaced the rear one.  I also destroyed the tray that holds the bike.  On the
car, there are 2 dents under the rack towers on the driver's side.  I may fix
them when I pull the rack off this winter.  The bottom of the garage door got
bent a little.  I had a garage door company come out and inspect it.  There was
a crease in the top panel, but they suggested I wait and see if it gets any
worse before I do anything.  It opens and closes fine, so I may be lucky.

After my wife came home and I told her about the problem, I mentioned my upset
stomach and she, in her best RN voice, informed me that I should never take any
antibiotic on an empty stomach.  I guess that explains the I-wanna-puke feeling
on the ride.

Bob - who felt very stupid this weekend

    	Bob,
    
    	BICYCLING was previewing a little magnet thingy that you
    	put on your hood. At highway speed, you can't read anything.
    	When you slow down, the thingy has a spring-activated piece
    	which pops up. It says something like "Bikes on Roof."
    
    	Scott

    shoulda let some air out of your tires?
    
    ed

    re: .15
    
    I considered that, but the damage was already done and I have
    reasonably low profile tires and steel belted tires don't like being
    low.
    
    Bob

    Good grief, Bob, your "stupid bike trick" sounds even more expensive
    than mine!  And, it doesn't sound like you got much more sympathy than
    I did!

    right, the garage is for the boat you don't use or the shop tools
    you would use if you weren't out riding...
    
    I can't even put a bike on the roof of my car, so I am prevented from
    making that mistake anyway.
    
    ed

Greetings all,

I generally tell right you guys the really stupid things that I do
so I won't bore you with old stories... The best one that I probably 
have left is going on a century in Deleware (approx 100 miles away) 
with a friend who wanted to try it out.

Mistake #1: Because (back  in a earlier life when we have a robust 
DEC car plan with unlimited personal miles) I was driving the friend,
who for the sake of arguement wi'll call Rich, lectured me that I shouldn't
be late as usual. I assured him that a bike ride is different from 
work when I habitually tardy. Tragically he bought the line. We were
to meet at his house at 06:00, he got up at like 05:30 and I showed up
at 07:00. Ah what the heck I said these things are always a little
late getting started. 

Mistake #2: This ride went through the center of Dover so it had to have a 
uniform start time. This time was 08:15. We showed up at 09:00, fortunately
Rich lectured the who way in a whiney voice..."We're gonna be late and its al
your fault!" I took it like a man (or more likely like a DEC fse), "It
was my wifes fault for only waking me up 3 times." When we got there EVERYTHING 
was packed up and gone! I couldn't believe the situation. So we went to 
(at the time it wasn't such a bad idea) Dennys for breakfast. I swear I thought
I must have gotten the wrong weekend. The next year I did the same ride (sans Rich)
and I found out that they start the ride at the start time then fold up
the tent. 

Mistake #3:  Thinking I was ever going to hear the end of this. When we 
were at work to make sure everyone knew that we rode 200 miles for breakfast
at Denny's. So now whenever I'm late for soemthing they give me grief 
about going to breakfast several hundred miles away.

Fred

    re: my .13
    
    Last Wednesday I went on the club dinner ride.  This was my first ride
    after getting the seat replaced due to .13.  When I got the seat
    replaced, the bike shop did an inseam measurement to make sure we got
    the seat height  right.
    
    At the ride, I got on my bike and noticed I seemed to be riding a bit low. 
    I figured it was because my seat height had been off and ignored it. 
    However, the first time I tried a sharp turn, the front wheel hit my
    leg.  Hmmmm.  I rode anyway.  A few days later, I took the bike to a
    dealer that sold Peugots figuring I needed new front fork.  They took
    one look at it and yep, bent fork.  They checked their inventory and
    said it would take 2 weeks to get a Peugot fork painted in the correct
    color, or they could put a cro-moly one on in a few days.  I went with
    the cro-moly fork.  I noticed that when I picked the bike up to put it
    on the rack, that the front seemed lighter than before, so I guess the
    new fork is lighter than the old one.
    
    Total repair bill so far, $140.  But, I'm not finished.  I also
    discovered on the ride, that my distance function on my cateye is
    intermittent:-(
    
    Bob
    

    hmmm, I can relate to this note ;-).
    
    When I was a tyke, about 11 or 12, I had a little 'stingray' bike,
    I used to pop wheelies on it, ride for two or three feet, bang it back
    down onto the street.  Maintenance?  What's that?  The last wheelie I 
    ever popped, up goes the front end, and the front wheel falls off! "Oh,
    no!" I thinks, as it bounces away. I sort of helplessly waited for the 
    front forks to go down (they did) embedded into the street and off I 
    went over the handlebars, but having had time to panic, I'd tightened 
    my grip on them and pulled the bike over on top of me.  8 stitches.
    
    More recently, I was following my sweetie pulling the hot pink Equinox
    trailer, too closely.  It was a mild hill, and she was affected more by
    it than I was; um, I bumped the trailer and took a fall at about 3 mph.
    It was embarasssing.  They were fine.
    
    DougO

I can add a "me too" to .0's leaving the front wheel behind.  
There I was, pulling my bike out of the car yesterday lunchtime,
when suddenly I realized something was missing:  the front wheel.

The 10-minute drive home seemed to take forever.  Along the way
I prepared myself to see a wheel which no longer resembled anything
circular.  Instead, nothing.  The wheel was gone!  Damn, it's not 
like many people can use the odd-sized 24" Terry wheel.

On the plus side, I met a new neighbor, chatted with the mail carrier,
and flagged down the DPW truck driver who had patched the road
ealier that day.  No one had seen the wheel, but then, no one looked at
me too strangely in my cycling attire either.

This story has a happy ending.  My downstairs neighbors found the 
wheel, and it was sitting safe and sound (and round) in their kitchen
when I called them last night.

Ann-Marie

    This "STUPID BIKE TRICKS" is getting to be a habit...  
    
    Well, I've DONE it again!  And the season HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET!
    
    Last autumn my old spoke guard (that plastic cover that goes behind the
    freewheel and protects the spokes from the chain if you shift the chain
    off the inside) broke.  So, I threw it away - now don't get ahead of me
    even though you KNOW where I'm going!
    
    I figured - I've never thrown the chain off the inside so I don't need
    this thing.  And I didn't.  No problem for the rest of the season.
    
    This spring I ordered a couple chains and Yesterday morning I installed
    one (it was time with around 1500 miles on the old one) in preparation
    for a SHORT, SLOW ride in the afternoon (I'm recuperating from having
    gall bladder surgery last Friday) so I wasn't planning on going too far
    or very fast...
    
    On my way around one of the local lakes on the bike path I decided to
    stop for a break and downshifted to 1st gear - Yup, you guessed it -
    INSTANT LOCKUP AND SKIDDING STOP!  Blew out 3 spokes and bent the
    others big time!  End of ride.  I released the rear brake and limped
    the 1/2 mile back to the car, then headed for the bike shop for a new
    set of spokes AND A SPOKE PROTECTOR!
    
    During my inspection I also noticed that the jockey wheels were pretty
    sloppy so I picked up a set of replacement aluminum wheels while I was
    out - and this morning I got to spend the standard couple hours
    REBUILDING THE DAMN WHEEL AGAIN!  
    
    Maybe I should take up bowling for a hobby?  You don't need a helmet,
    you almost NEVER fall down and get hurt, and there's a almost always a
    place nearby where you can go to the bathroom and get "refreshments"!
    
    BTW:  While attempting to install the new spoke protector - I BROKE IT!

    go to the bathroom and get refreshments?  No, don't bother to explain.
    
    Yeah, bowlers never worry about being "in shape for the season."
    
    Gad, sometimes it's hard to figure out which are the balls and which
    the bowlers.
    
    ed

     Easy, the bowlers are the ones with 5 holes! :-)

Hmmm, I thought hockey goalies had five holes....

-Patrick

    
    Only after they've been hit by a puck a few times....  :*)
    
    Graham.

I did it AGAIN:-(

Bob

>                               -< 2nd annual... >-
>
>I did it AGAIN:-(
    
    Does this mean you hit the garage door again?  If so, fixing your
    lapses sounds even more expensive than fixing mine...  BTW:  I also had
    to replace the freehub again due to my little shifting episode - it was
    making some annoying noises after grinding up a few spokes!

re: .29

Yep:-(  However, since I didn't bother to replace the bent rear rod, shaft,
stick, pole, or whatever it's called, I didn't break any spokes when I hit
this time, and was actually able to get my bike down without dropping the
seat post.  Which reminds me, I need to tilt the new seat back a little.  The
last time I rode, it was too far forward and I had too much weight on my
hands.

Bob

    I don't know if this has been mentioned here before, but since you
    obviously didn't listen the first time...
    
    I put my garage door opener inside a spare cycling glove when I
    *leave* the house and still have functioning brain cells in my
    head.  By the time you arrive home, there is so little blood flowing
    to the head that it's easy to forget.  When you grab for the door-
    opener, though, you'd have to be comatose to not remember, since
    you cannot push the button until you've removed the clicker from
    the glove.
    
    Works for me
    
    m

I have started putting the transmitter into my console where I can't get to it
easily.

Thanks for the ideas.

Bob

re: 31

I rememeber reading your advice previously and have been using it even since.  I also
remember thinking that Bob was a "bozo" for damaging his prized possession in that
fashion.  

Anyway, when I returned from a ride last Thursday my wife had left the garage door open &
I drove right in.  My TREK 2100 was ripped off of the roof rack & I actually saw it in
the rear-view mirror bounce off of my BMW  before it landed in a hemlock tree next to the
garage.  I sat in the car for a few minutes in disbelief & anger.  I tried to blame my
wife for the accident but she wasn't having any of that.

Fortunately I've been using aero bars lately & they took the brunt on the impact.  My
stem was spun around, some spokes were loosened, the rack tray was bent,and the wires
were ripped out of my Avocet.  There also was a decent sized dent in the car but
all-in-all I felt like I escaped with minimal damage compared to what I expected.

I examined the composite tubes for damage and didn't see any but I'm still concerned
about high-speed decents for awhile.

So I now have a large sign hanging in the garage that says; "Warning stupid, bike on
board!".  I also owe Bob an apology (consider this it).

This better be my last entry on this topic.

Ray

    When the *bonk* takes hold, we all get stupid.  I guess we'd better
    put our car keys in a banana peel, too... 

    Guys, you're DOING IT WRONG!!!  Just do what I did and fill the garage
    with so much worthless junk, garbage, lawn equipment, bike stuff, old
    mattresses, ski junk, firewood, building materials, and any other crap
    you have laying around.  THEN park the motorhome in front of one side
    so you couldn't get the car in the garage with a shoehorn (on a good
    day there's BARELY room to carry the bike in - AND YOU'LL NOT HAVE THE
    PROBLEM ANY MORE...  Of course, you may get a lot of abuse from your
    SO about CLEANING OUT THAT BOAR'S NEST OF A GARAGE!!!
    
    My big problem is the underground garage at work - in the winter I park
    down there since I never have a bike on the roof.  On days when its
    raining and the bike is in the trunk I park down there - every time I
    pull into the drive I have to remember whether or not there's a bike on
    top so I don't head down below and add embarassment to the damage!

    When I was around 10 years old, I liked to race my 1 speed red Schwinn
    bicycle against cars & trucks down a hill in my neighborhood.  I had 
    installed one of those large display speedometer/odometers and liked to 
    attempt personal speed records.
    
    One morning, a small moving truck was starting down the hill and I
    decided to draft it.  By the time we reached the bottom of the hill,
    the truck had a lead of about 50 meters.  We were both moving fast,
    I do not recall what the speedometer read but it had to be a new PR.
    I can still relive what happened next.  
    
    The truck's brake lights came on, the truck slowed down.  I applied my
    foot brakes.  I tried to turn to the left but the bike did not respond; 
    the handlebars starting vibrating like crazy. Then the truck stopped and
    I stopped with my bike on the ground and the front wheel behind the
    truck's right rear tire.  Then the truck's backup lights came on and
    I yanked on my bike trying to save it.  A loud crunching sound brought 
    the truck to a halt.  
    
    The driver ran to see what had happened.  My front tire was mangled.  
    Shaken, the driver transported me & my bike home (2 blocks).  Even my mom 
    was shaking at what might have happened to me.  I was just upset that I 
    could not ride.  But I never raced cars or trucks down that hill again.

    now you use hills with a passing lane at the bottom?  :-)

    Well, I hate to put new entries in notes like this - ESPECIALLY the
    ones that I started, but September has been my month for NEW "STUPID
    BIKE TRICKS"!!!!!!!
    
    A couple weeks ago we decided to head out for a weekend on a bike trail
    in southern Minnesota.  Put everything together and headed off after
    work.  Got to the destination, set up the tent, ate a bit of dinner,
    wandered around town, and eventually went to bed.  I'm laying in the
    tent, JUST READY TO NOD OFF, and my wife says "Did you remember to
    bring the front wheels?"  Yup - sitting at home in the garage, where
    I'd CAREFULLY set them after taking them out of the car so I could put
    the camping stuff in, WERE THE FRONT WHEELS FOR BOTH OUR !#$%%^&*&
    BIKES!
    
    Now, I SWEAR, in the years of riding, and using the fork mount roof
    rack I've NEVER forgotten them before, but this time, when way too far
    from home to run back, I did...
    
    But, not all is lost.  We decided to try renting a tandem - I've been
    wanting to try one, and my wife has been agreeable.  So, off to the
    bike rental...  And off we go...  For about 30 feet, down the sidewalk,
    with a banshee 6 inches from my right ear (which is still ringing BTW). 
    Yes, my wife not only did NOT like the tandem, she let damn near
    everybody in town KNOW she didn't like it! And NO, I didn't do anything
    silly - I promise.  Just a very gentle takeoff in first gear.  
    
    So, after we WALKED the tandem back to the rental place, she decided to
    try a recumbent since she was curious...  That worked a little better -
    at least there was no screaming, but she felt she needed additional
    time before going out to ride where there were other people around. 
    So, we decided to pass on riding, and just wander around and goof off. 
    Which would have worked better had we not been confronted by 2 things
    when we got back to camp...
    
    1.  We camped next to a BBQ pit - which we were informed would be used
    in the morning for a MAJOR BBQ - STARTING AT 04:00!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    2.  The Boy Scouts arrived - and naturally decided it would be best to
    pitch their tents RIGHT NEXT TO US!  We sat in stunned silence as
    hordes of pre and post-pubescent boys trudged past hauling all manner
    of equipment, equipment, and more equipment.  Accompanied, of course,
    by the highly vocal exuberance with which boys of such an age approach
    such activities...
    
    My wife was prepared to remain despite the Boy Scouts, but when we were
    informed of our 04:00 wake-up call, coupled with my stupidity in
    leaving a critical set of bike parts at home, even she abandoned all
    hope and we gave up, packed up and got out!
    
    But, I'll bet that from now until doomsday, any time we're going
    anywhere with the bikes, she'll ask me if we have the wheels...

    Of course, the month either went up- or downhill from there:
    
    Last weekend, we went on the American Lung Association Great River Ride
    fall edition - the June one was punctuated by 3-straight days of 90+
    degree temperatures, humidity in the 90% range, and was the hottest,
    most miserable, set of rides I've ever survived!
    
    THIS TIME - it was the COLDEST, MOST MISERABLE, SET OF RIDES!
    
    Friday it was 32 degrees, but the sun was out and there was not major
    wind.  My wife was doing sweep (last rider in, verifying that the route
    is empty, helping other riders) so I stayed with her.  The ALA changed
    the course to 40 miles from the previous 30, which was fine except that
    we didn't get the last rider on the road until 2:15.  
    
    By the time we'd gone 12 miles to the first rest stop we'd clumped
    about 8-9 people together and it was 3:45 and the slowest riders were
    averaging around 6 mph (yeah, 6 mph, it isn't a typo).  At this rate
    the last people would be in around 08:30 at night, LONG after dark,
    LONG after the showers closed, and WAY past the end of dinner...   
    
    My wife made one of those executive decisions to take the slowest group
    on the old 30-mile route, cutting off 10 and rejoining the new route in
    10 miles instead of 20.  AND, after a spirited debate with a parent,
    inserted the 4 1/2 year-old that was riding into a sag wagon for a ride
    to the next rest stop (where we rejoined the new route).  This enabled
    us to push the average speed up to about 10 mph, and the rest of the
    day went without incident.  We got our little group to the rest stop,
    rejoined the route, and got everyone in before dark.
    
    As an editorial comment, I think its great that someone would bring a
    4 1/2 year-old on a bike ride, but this poor little guy was really
    working hard on an improperly sized bike.  Fortunately, there was GREAT
    support and lots of sag wagons...  But, still?
    
    Saturday, it was not only COLD, but there was a nice 20-26 mph headwind
    that could have been ordered JUST to be in our faces all day.  Again,
    the sun was out but I never felt like I got warmed up and riding was
    work all day (you know how sometimes you go out and for the first 5 or
    6 miles you feel kind of slow and heavy, and then things get
    wonderfully loose and you just glide through the rest of the day?)... 
    Well, it NEVER happened.  Every one of those 40 miles felt like work,
    and at the end of the day I was exhausted - MUCH more than I've been
    when I've ridden much further, much faster.  I don't know if it was the
    colder weather, or what, but I talked to other people who had the same
    reaction.  It was difficult enough, that the ride organizers wound up
    sagging quite a few more than the normal number of people to the end...
    
    There were a LOT of sore knees and aching bodies in camp that night -
    many more than usual, and a lot of people were in their tents and
    asleep by 8 pm...  
    
    Sunday, instead of being cold and sunny, it was cold and raining... 
    Yeah, my personal favorite 40 degrees and rain in my face! 
    Unfortunately, I was thinking about the rain and the cold instead of
    concentrating on riding properly and did one of those things that you
    KNOW was stupid as soon as I did it ---  going up a small hill, about
    14 miles into the ride, instead of downshifting and concentrating, I
    was thinking about being wet and cold, and before I realized it my
    cadence was down to around 43 (yeah, 43).  An extra hard push to get
    over the hill...  and instead of going over the hill I felt/heard
    something in my knee pop and my mind was IMMEDIATELY refocused on
    riding by a flash of pain! 
    
    I made it into the rest stop, but my day ended at 16 miles when my wife
    watched me grimace and my knee buckle when I attempted to get off the
    bike...  At that point she conspired with one of the other ride
    marshals to take my bike away and load it into a trailer where I
    couldn't get at it.  I became one of those pathetic schlubs, sagged
    into the endpoint, forced to endure the ignomony of watching soggy,
    cold, riders come in while I sat with an ice bag on my knee!  
    
    It stiffens a little when I sit, but walking loosens it up again and
    I'll probably get a few more miles in before the weather here turns
    totally cruddy.  
    
    Once again, though, the ALA did a great job on the ride.  They couldn't
    control the weather but they provided fabulous support, with tons of
    sags and a radio network connecting the support vehicles and mechanics (a
    mobile bike shop traveled with us), and plenty of warm and cold drinks
    and food at all the stops...
    
    But, it would be nice if they could just moderate the weather a
    little...  I mean, sheesh - 95 in June and 35 in September?  How about
    something right in the middle?

     Re .48
    
    GREAT STORY!  thanks for telling us.  :-))))
    
    

    re .38
    
    i was also there with dave and pat. *I* brought my complete bike, but
    did manage to forget the container for my contacts. i was able to
    improvise.
    
    it wasn't HORDES of boy scouts - only about a dozen. i too could have
    lived with them, but the 4AM BBQ start was just too much. there were NO
    signs near this BBQ pit either!!!
    
    i tried the tandem also and it was strange. i don't like it either.
    even thugh i trust dave, i don't like the idea of not being able to see
    what is in front of me.
    
    anyway - the brats and pie were nice.
    
    dave forgot to mention that when we got up saturday mornign it was
    raining - complete with thunder and lightning!
    
    	ann

    I forgot my front wheel a few weeks back while packing the car for the
    NVP (Massachusetts) Fall Century.  It was about nineteen miles from my
    home to the start and I had allowed plenty of time to register,
    stretch, and prep the bike...  Of course, I had packed clothing for any 
    kind of weather, tools, tire pump, chain lube, degreaser, everything 
    except .. uh-oh .. I couldn't've forgotten THAT!
    
    Slammed the tailgate, mumbled "forgot something" to the NVP people
    looking at me quizzically, zipped home, got the wheel, and zipped back.  
    
    I ended up taking off well behind the pack and I got about two miles 
    before my cue sheet fell out of my jacket pocket.  Since I wasn't
    psyched to ride 98 more miles relying only on the arrows, I turned
    back..... I'm sure that the NVPers were wondering if I'd ever get ten
    miles in, let alone 100 but they were very nice about it and gave me
    TWO copies of the cue sheet "just in case..."
    
    After all this and clearing my head a bit, it was really a good ride.
    
    Erik

    Yeah, Ann was there too, and she REMINDED us that she'd remembered ALL
    the parts to her bike!  She was better on the tandem - AT LEAST SHE
    DIDN'T SCREAM IN MY EAR!!!!!!!!
    
    But, she's right, the pie in Whelan, and brats in Lanesboro were both
    good, and the cinnamon rolls we bought from some Amish folks were
    excellent!  Thank goodness for food... 

    Here's a note I can relate to...                       
    
    once upon a time, I was a teacher -- a teacher who rode to work on his
    bike (I've been doing this a long time...) I rode 13 miles one way
    every day, mainly because I didn't own a car.
    
    One day during lunch break, I rode down to the Circle K to pick up a
    pack o' smokes. <*wince*>  Only two blocks, so I just hopped on the
    road bike with my pointy toed cowboy boots stuck into the toe clips.
    
    I lit up a Marlboro, hopped back on the bike and rode back to the
    school.  I stopped the bike in front of about 300 students having lunch
    on the lawn.  At this precise moment, the cowboy boot toes welded
    themselves into the clips.
    
    Over I went, on the drops, with the smoke clamped in my lips, like the
    tricycle guy on Laugh-In (only I hit a LOT harder).
    
    Once cumpled on the ground, I still couldn't get out of the clips, and
    had to be rescued by a couple of smart arses who had to kick my toes
    out of the clips.  I understand that most of the students thoroghly
    enjoyed the entire performance.  I had a chain tatoo on my pants and a
    really sore head from hitting it on the sidewalk, even though I was
    going zero mph.
    
    I do believe it was the last time I ever wore those damn boots, and I
    !!! ALWAYS !!! free at least one foot when I slow down.
    

    
    I can just picture a Cigarrette smoking cowboy riding a bike 13 miles
    to work each way ;-)
    That's was a funny picture, thanks for sharing!

    I recently observed other bikers performing stupid acts of repute.
    Picture a busy 4 lane road at night with cars filling all lanes in both
    directions.  Why so crowded ?  The Colorado Springs Balloon 'Glow' at
    Memorial Park.  
    
    My family is walking down the sidewalk when we see this crazy lady on 
    her bike, riding AGAINST traffic.  She is not wearing a helmet, her bike 
    has no reflectors nor any lights.  Cars were swerving around her as she 
    finally turns left into a parking lot and apparently finds her car.  Then 
    we see a man riding a bike, not wearing a helmet, bike with no reflectors 
    nor any lights, but this one is pulling a kiddy trailer.  He is riding in 
    the MIDDLE of the road (no neutral lane !) Guess where he is going ?  
    To join the idiot lady !  That entire family (including 2 kids in the
    trailer) survived a really stupid act.  My 6 year old son asked me 'why
    did they do that ?'.

Michigan actually passed a law at one time requiring bikes to ride on the
lefthand side of the road facing traffic.  I believe they have since repealed
that.  I don't know if they require lights on bikes in Michigan.

Jim

    At least one town in Michigan now requires a full complement of safety
    gear on your bike.  Reflectors, a head light, and a tail light that is
    visible from 300', and a bell, horn or other audible signaling device.  
    Northville, MI.  My high school home town.  

    	The world is full of people like that. They know in their hearts
    that everyone else will watch out for them. 99.999% of the time, we do.
    The others are called *statistics.* 
    	Usta be, they would get eaten by tigers and such. Nowadays, it
    falls to the rest of us to take care of them. They generally become
    vice-presidents, or at least middle mgrs (just an opinion).   

re: riding against traffic

I see that all the time here in New England, usually kids, but sometimes
adults. I always wondered if if was just stupidity, or that "New England
individuality" that we always hear about :-)

re: riding against traffic

This is my own personal theory on this.  When I was growing up in the 60's and
70's, we were taught to go to the edge of the road, look both ways for traffic,
wait for the traffic to pass, and then cross.  The same thing carried over to
bicycles.  Bicycles were classified as moving vehicles, but because of the size
and speed of bicycles, bicyclists had to watch out for cars. 

Now, kids are taught that if they start walking across the road against
traffic, the cars will stop for them.  This too carries over to bicycling where
the current thought is the cars will watch out for the bikes and stop if a bike
needs to go in front of a car.  This is being reinforced by dumb laws like 
the Massachusett law classifying bicycles a 'pedestrians' rather than 
'vehicles'.  Now, the current thought is that bicyclist can do anything they
want and if a car hits them, the driver of the car will pay.

Jim

    I have often though about stopping and "educating" people on the rules
    of the road especially when I see an adult leading children on a ride,
    against traffic.  I always come back to the adage about trying to teach
    a pig to sing though.  
    
    Brian

Think of it as natural selection..... Same thing goes for helmets.  They are
probably the same idiots who would run you down in their car first chance they
got.

;-)