The joys of cycling

[mr_hippo]

New look forum; now let’s have a fresh start. Let’s have less ‘gloom and doom’ threads and more joyful ones! Post about the things that have made you smile, either when they happened or on reflection moments that were not funny at the time but you can smile about them now. Ever changed a tube and then not had the energy to pomp it up? Been there, done that. Ever de-tangled a club mate and his bike from a holly hedge? Ever been lost but found a nice cafe/viewpoint/etc? Cycling does have its great and funny moments - whats yours?

 

[col]

Great Idea Mr H.

 

[Keith Oates]

When I wsa a young boy at home in Cornwall I was out riding with my father when a goat jumped over the hedge and knocked me off my bike. My father laughed at me so I also had to laugh but really I was also a little bit frightened!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[fossyant]

Funny moment...

Went on a long club run, total lack of cafe stop (this could have been bad), ended up near Ashbourne then took Manifold Valley over to Matlock (still 40 miles from home). Anyway, we come to a ford. Most of us thought, bugger it, we'll cross by the little bridge. It was a warm day, the area full of folk picnicing. Anyway two of the lads say they can get over no problem. Half way over, in about a foot of water they come to a stop, and are down on their asses. God did we laugh, and so did the picinic'ers...everyone was screaming laughing.

Anyway, no concern for these two clubmates, one of the lads was still taking the wee wee some miles later. He then ended up with a bidon of blackcurrent emptied on his head. That was fun !

 

[mr_hippo]

Thanks for your posts - keep them coming!
Two of my memories:-
!On my first bike, three speed Rufford Robin Hood with drop bars, coming back from the train station where l had been to find out train times to Blackpool, (1959, first family holiday, Monday to Friday, B&B in Dickson Road). Many ways to get back home, decided to come back down Shaw Lane; then either first right into Bryer Road or second right into Saunders Avenue. I decided on the first road but I was too fast and too late. Mounted the pavement, the bike hit the wall (row of upended half paving slabs) and a privet hedge I sailed over the hedge, landed on my bottom and the front light landed on my head seconds later. The holiday? It rained every day!

Glorious summers day in '63, three of us, all about 14 years old, cycled to Southport (Round trip of about 50 miles). Richard on his new racer, Peter on his second hand racer and me on my new policeman's 'sit up and beg' (That's another story!) We came back on the Formby by-pass and were passed by an old woman on her bike. Old is a relative term, she was possibly in her early 20's and was riding a two tone brown roadster - three tone if you count the rust. The only other notable feature of her bike was the chainguard, either loose or bent as the crank hit it on every revolution.We gave chase and boy, she was fast! . l dropped behind after about a mile, Peter lasted about two miles. Richard was found further up the road, slouched over his bike - a gibbering wreck. Three fit teenage boys had failed to catch an 'old' woman on her bike!

 

[fossyant]

Cafe stops.

One particular Cafe near Millers Dale (Peak district). Lady running the place always took your name when you placed a food order. You can guess... Bernhard Hinault, Robert Millar, Greg Lemond yadda yadda. Poor lady got very confused when there were non-British names being quoted.

 

[mr_hippo]

Thanks Fossy, just reminded me of a cafe stop - large truck stop at Prees Heath. Orders written down on numbered tickets and you are given the tear off slip at the bottom. About 20 of us on a club run, enjopying the sun outside and waiting to be fed. Pretty young waitress came out and shouted '69' a number of times. One of our female members, not one of the sharpest pencils in the box, said 'I'd love a '69'', We asked her "What is a '69'?" "It's an ice cream cone with a Cadbury's Flake in it!!!!!

 

[stowie]

In my (much) younger days I used to mountain bike around the South coast. We used to have various routes, one of which was a gnarly and very fast downhill with a sharp left turn and very uneven ground before it. Even when in our early 20's we took care as we went into the turn after building up loads of speed on the long downhill. Except we went once with a friend who had never mountain biked beforehand and was utterly fearless - he used to bungee jump to relax and was into any dangerous sport he could afford. We told him more than once to brake early. Cue him flying down the hill and not touching the brakes at all at the end. Flew over the handlebars, through thick gorse and down the steep slope, landing up in a heap against a tree. We thought he might have died, or at least broken something important. But he simply got up, absolutely covered in gorse scratches and leapt up and down excitedly wanting to do it again.

We didn't cycle with him after that. He had the attitude of Hans "No way" Rey without any of the skill.

 

[Chrisz]

What got me into propper cycling;-

Many many years ago I was out playing on by brother's old Peugot bike (10speed, built from pig-iron), wearing jeans and trainers etc. Anyway, I', busy honking up a slight incline (at the time I thought it was a hill), daydreaming away when a couple of motorbikes go past and one shouted something at me. I provided him with my usual response when he started pointing backwards down the road. I looked over my shoulder (purely out of curiosity) to see a whole peleton bearing down on me at great speed!! My natural reaction was to speed up to get out of their way 3 seconds later I got swamped, shouted at, a few hellos and then spat out the back - feeling like I'd just been violently abused!! Trundled off home and then started thinking about cycling seriously

 

[Lucheni]

Last summer I was pootling along beside a river when the path narrowed quite drastically. My mate went first and made it look easy. I followed much more cautiously and went slightly too close to the edge. At almost a complete standstill my bike slipped off the path and ever so slowly slid down the bank towards the water. It took so long my mate had time to turn around and howl with laughter as I tried to abandon bike but it was no use, I ended up in the river. Good fun on a warm day!


On one of my first "long" trips on the bike, I rode about eight miles with a keen walker to have a picnic and a stroll around a lake. The plan was to ride back afterwards but when we got back to the bikes my front tire was completely flat and for the first time in weeks I'd forgotten my pump. Unlucky! A single thorn (and my lack of repair kit) meant I had to walk home!
My buddy loved the walking home and was quite enthusiatic about it, I enjoyed the first twenty minutes or so but not the rest of it and after 4 miles or so I was completely fed up. One foot in front the other, plod, plod, plod. The best part is for weeks afterwards my buddy kept using this experience to try and convince me that I'd like to go hiking!

 

[2PedalsTez]

Cafe stops.

One particular Cafe near Millers Dale (Peak district). Lady running the place always took your name when you placed a food order. You can guess... Bernhard Hinault, Robert Millar, Greg Lemond yadda yadda. Poor lady got very confused when there were non-British names being quoted.

Off topic I know, but...

One of my work colleagues always tells the story of how the vet she took her dog to would call the pets (much like gp surgery) by their name followed by the owners surname. My colleagues surname is 'Hole' and the dogs name is 'Rusty'...

Apparently there was the odd snigger when that name was called..

 

[coffeejo]

Out on a club ride on Wednesday, one of the guys announced his desire for a muff.

The stunned silence was broken only when I asked if he meant a buff.

He did.

 

[Fab Foodie]

 

[Paul.G.]

At the time I used to hate doing my paper round, getting up whilst it was still dark to get it done before school but I had to keep doing it to repay my grandad the money I owed him for my shiney new Yellow 12 speed Puch. Grandad never actually took the money back but it was a good way of teaching me the value of money although I don't think I actually saw it that way at the time! My question is this, do you think it would be fun to do a paper round again, just once and for a laugh or would it spoil the childhood memories? Imaging the look on the newsagents face if some 46 year old bloke walked in and asked if there were any paper round jobs going!