How often do you need rescuing?

How often do you need to be rescued from a mechanical on average?

  • once in every 100 miles

    Votes: 1 0.9%
  • once in every 1,000 miles

    Votes: 2 1.8%
  • once in every 10,000 miles

    Votes: 19 17.1%
  • once in every 100,000 miles

    Votes: 20 18.0%
  • less often or never been rescued

    Votes: 69 62.2%

  • Total voters
    111
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PaulSB

Legendary Member
None so far. Walked 10 miles after a snapped chain. (Now carry tool and quick link). Cycled home after smashing my collar bone into 3 bits with the sharp end almost through the skin.
There's a theme running through this thread. Cyclists with serious injuries, health issues get themselves home first and then call for medical assistance.

It's on par with following a crash "Is the bike OK?" and "Is my Garmin off?"

Anyways we've reached The Retirement Thread......:laugh::laugh:
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Other people regard it as a badge of honour that every single inch of a planned ride must be completed by bike, come what may.
Not really the case for me. It's just that it'll often be a long wait for rescue, so probably quicker to fix the bike and ride home. It'll need fixing at some point anyway and even just tying up broken cables and riding on slowly is a start towards a proper fix.

I'm fortunate in that where I ride there are plenty of railway lines
Yep. We used to have plenty of railway lines. Now there are just two near me and one of them only carries sand and royalty. A couple of bits of the others are cycleways but most are lost to us for now.
 

iandg

Legendary Member
I think the only time I've been rescued was when I was hit by a bus in West Brom (early 90s) and my bike was a 'write off'. I was heading to work, used to take bike on train from Stafford to Sandwell then ride up to the hospital. Wife drove over from Stafford to pick me up.

Don't think I've ever been rescued for a mechanical, I started cycling in 1973. Always carry tube, chain link, tyre-boot and multi-tool.

I'm amazed at the number of people in the local club who phone for help after a puncture :ohmy:
 

rualexander

Legendary Member
Never, in 33 years of cycling, over 100,000 miles.
Not really had that many issues beyond punctures and the odd broken spoke though.
 

Donger

Convoi Exceptionnel
Location
Quedgeley, Glos.
Only "rescued" twice in 28,000 miles so far.

No.1: Ten miles from home when I sheared a pedal off and phoned the missus for a lift home rather than ride ten miles with only one pedal. She has never forgotten the incident, and has probably told every one of our friends about it since! Next time I'm getting home one legged.

No.2: Heard a ping soon after starting to descend the Col de la Forclaz near Annecy. Watched in horror as my front brake pad flew in an arc to my right and disappeared over the mountainside. Then thirty seconds of panic as I had to apply the front brake metal-on-metal ..... sparks flying from the rim, horrible scraping and juddering and very little noticeable deceleration. A brief inspection of my front wheel when I finally managed to stop (which involved taking some of the rubber off my heels), and there were three distinct metal burrs reminiscent of the initial disastrous attempt at my first year school metalwork project. I started walking downhill .... missing out on a brilliant descent after putting in such an effort on the climb. Riding down that monster was just not an option for a twenty stoner with only one brake. After about a mile, a minibus pulled up and offered a lift down to the valley bottom. I wasn't about to turn it down. It turns out that accepting lifts along mountain roads from mad Austrian minibus drivers can be every bit as scary as cycling down them with missing brakes. I think that guy must have driven the same route several times a day every day of the hang gliding season, and he cut every corner, practically skimmed every cliff face and narrowly avoided every road edge bollard on the way down breaking the speed limit all the way. You know those little grab handles you get in all cars and vans, just above the door .... that you never ever use? Well I used mine that day! My knuckles were white by the time I got out. Should have carried on walking.
 

Ian H

Ancient randonneur
I have in the past broken the odd spoke, had a bottom bracket come loose, exploded a rim. The only time I didn't continue was in the early 80s sometime when a minicab turned right across my path and I cannoned into it. The driver apologised and offered me a lift, which I accepted. The bike was completely bent. I then sued him for damages through the CTC.
 
Location
South East
Never been rescued, and had only 1 issue on the way back from Portsmouth on the tandem, during one of Goodwoods Festival of Speed weekend.
A Vulcan bomber was doing an air display, and we decide quite quickly to stop at a very close gap in the hedgerow to watch, but during the hasty slowdown and down change, dropped the rear mech into the spokes, damaging 6 or 8 spokes and rendering the mech and wheel knackered.
We’d got to within 4 miles of home cycling, and walked the rest!
 

Supersuperleeds

Legendary Member
Location
Leicester
Twice.

First time came off my bike riding home from work. Phoned our lass to get her to pick me up, told her I was fine, but didn't want to carry on riding. Ended up needing stitches in my elbow.

Second time had the chain snap on me half way round a 100 miler. Got the missus to come pick me up, swapped bikes, rode back out to where the chain snapped and carried on the ride

I have got myself home with a broken crank ended up walking about 4 miles; again with a broken pedal - rode 8 miles on just the spindle to the bike shop. Done countless spokes that haven't stopped me getting myself home.
 
Never. I did ride +/-5 miles to a railway station following a heart attack. Caught the train home. I reckon that's a self-supported rescue. Only time I've had to abandon a ride in my life.

I simply don't understand all this rescue stuff.

In a similar vein, I cycled to the hospital to find out I had massive PEs. Never owned up to the nurses and the bike was locked up outside for 10 days.

But to keep on track, never really had to be rescued.
 
Never had to be rescued - so far

have had a few punctures I couldn't fix - due to accidental lack of spares mostly - longest walk was probably about 6 miles but then I seldom ride more than 20 in one go
Nowadays I always have 'puncture resistant' tyres - and fill them with goo as well - and carry a spare tube and a repair kit

worst experience was when the saddle fell off when I was 8-9 miles from home
turns out cycling on the level while standing on pedals is harder than I thought!!!

actually - dunno who could rescue me - most people are working when I go out!
 
Location
Hampshire
My rear rim disintegrated (check for rim wear now & again; lesson learned) half way round the IoW randonnee, a very nice man from the Wayfarers club (who organise it) gave me a lift back to the ferry. That's the only time I've not been able to affect a get home bodge, oh apart from when I got hit by a car at the notorious Ipley cross roads in the New Forest, which resulted in a totalled bike and a lift home from the police.
 

figbat

Slippery scientist
Twice. First time was because I was on my fourth puncture and had used all my spare tubes and those of the people I was riding with.

The last was a failure of a seat post clamp. I could possibly have kept riding with the seat fully down but I was within easy-ish rescue distance plus the whole ride had been a nightmare and I’d just had enough.
 

gavgav

Guru
Touching wood, never been rescued in over 11,000 miles of cycling. Nearest I got was when a gear cable snapped, but I managed to limp home in one gear, for the 3 miles I had left.

More recently, broke a chain link, but didn’t realise that’s what it was at the time, when chain kept dropping off, changing into bottom gear. Put it back on 6 times in the 7 miles I had left on the ride.
 
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