What do you do when everything goes wrong?

Bike serviced a few months ago, came out with rear wheel out of dish, so
now I have scraped off paint on the chain stay. Trying to get that fixed
today.

Last 3 pair of gloves have lasted less than 3 weeks before a seam has
ripped. Handed last pair in today.

Pedals have been gone for warranty repair/service, comes back after 6
weeks, just as bad as before. Waiting for manager to call me today.

Last ride, new tool, adjusted seat, scratched the seatpost. It ended up
with a puncture not far down beach road, then the rain starts, got home
wet and cold, and the bike covered in sand and muck, WTF is that stuff
that your bike gets smeared in when it rains on beach road?

I have just lost it, everything with cycling at the moment just end up
in tears. Not fun anymore.


--
Claes

Claes Wrote:
Bike serviced a few months ago, came out with rear wheel out of dish, so
now I have scraped off paint on the chain stay. Trying to get that fixed
today.

-Last 3 pair of gloves have lasted less than 3 weeks before a seam has
ripped. Handed last pair in today.-

-Pedals have been gone for warranty repair/service, comes back after 6
weeks, just as bad as before. Waiting for manager to call me today.-

-Last ride, new tool, adjusted seat, scratched the seatpost. It ended
up with a puncture not far down beach road, then the rain starts, got
home wet and cold, and the bike covered in sand and muck, WTF is that
stuff that your bike gets smeared in when it rains on beach road?-

I have just lost it, everything with cycling at the
moment just end up in tears. Not fun anymore.

Well, all very annoying, costly and depressing obviously but at least
these don't actually stop you riding and can be fixed either by new
equipment/money.

I would be overjoyed to only be 'impaired' by equipment failure.
Personally, started getting into cycling nearly 5 years ago. Within a
month of upping to 150km a week had problems with left leg. Led to
intermittant riding as we tried to sort it out, many and varied
treatments, frustrating riding. Long story but 18 months down the track
diagnosed with split biceps femoris tendon. Operation, then over 6
months before being able to regularly use wind trainer, 12 months
before able to do anything more than 10-20km rides on the road.

Built up miles very, very slowly over many months with various niggling
issues with repaired leg. Then problems with other leg. Ongoing
tightness keeping ride length down. Finally first three months of this
year up to doing over 200km a week, still with some niggles and
occasional week off to let something or other settle. No consistency or
apparent reasons for problems.

Last decent ride was 140km on the day the tour started. Nothing more
than 30km since as now have inner thigh tightness which continues,
despite much treatment, to be unresovable. Also had tendonitis of knee
as a result but at least that seems gone! Lucky to ride twice a week
and most weeks nothing. Must say though I see an excellent physio and
support staff etc.

What I would do to be able to just ride, injury free for a decent
period! At 41 I still hope to get a good 30 years of riding in!

I sympathise, truly, but would swap your equipment failures for my
physiological ones any day of the week! Will I keep persevering? Yep.
Do I want to race? Yep Will you end the run of bad luck Yep!

There's plenty of people with worse problems so we need to just
persevere.

Enjoy the rides!

Stewart


--
osc

Claes wrote:
Bike serviced a few months ago, came out with rear wheel out of dish, so
now I have scraped off paint on the chain stay. Trying to get that fixed
today.

Last 3 pair of gloves have lasted less than 3 weeks before a seam has
ripped. Handed last pair in today.

Pedals have been gone for warranty repair/service, comes back after 6
weeks, just as bad as before. Waiting for manager to call me today.

Last ride, new tool, adjusted seat, scratched the seatpost. It ended up
with a puncture not far down beach road, then the rain starts, got home
wet and cold, and the bike covered in sand and muck, WTF is that stuff
that your bike gets smeared in when it rains on beach road?

road grime. It's oil, grease, dust, dirt, sand, spit, water, rubber,
salt, bird ****, glass, tar ...

I have just lost it, everything with cycling at the moment just end up
in tears. Not fun anymore.

Which shop did the shonky work on the wheel and pedals?!

Claes wrote:

Bike serviced a few months ago, came out with rear wheel out of dish, so
now I have scraped off paint on the chain stay. Trying to get that fixed
today.

Last 3 pair of gloves have lasted less than 3 weeks before a seam has
ripped. Handed last pair in today.

Pedals have been gone for warranty repair/service, comes back after 6
weeks, just as bad as before. Waiting for manager to call me today.

Last ride, new tool, adjusted seat, scratched the seatpost. It ended up
with a puncture not far down beach road, then the rain starts, got home
wet and cold, and the bike covered in sand and muck, WTF is that stuff
that your bike gets smeared in when it rains on beach road?

I have just lost it, everything with cycling at the moment just end up
in tears. Not fun anymore.


Oh no!
I know how you feel though (or at least partly...) Was prepared to leave
(new) bike at velo two days ago and walk home - give up cycling for good...
My problem - fell off old bike and broke wrist, fell off Dave's bike and
scratched it up as well as hole in jersey, fell off new bike and hurt
right thumb and left shoulder, tried cleats and new shoes... Firstly on
trainer (note to all - they work just like training wheels and don't
teach you about the real world..!) and was doing just fine at getting
feet into AND out of cleats - so Dave felt that it was time to go down
the velo and do a few laps in reality... That's when I found out that
the action required to remove foot from cleat was sufficient to throw
body weight totally off - in the direction of the foot that is still
clipped in!!!****!!! So - one lap of velo - fell off spectacularly (and
thanks if you're on here to the bloke in the blue jersey who DIDN'T run
into me as I slid down the ashphalt AND asked on the next lap if I was
OK....) - sit in grass for a while - go and do another lap riding off
onto grass so that at least any fall wasn't going to hurt as much - and
Dave there to grab me - did that twice - nerves totally shattered...
Eventually decided to move over onto grass area on other side of fence -
supposedly safer - where I stood for somewhere up to about half an hour
TOTALLY unable to lift my left foot off the ground and try to clip it in
and then try and get out again... When I finally did - guess what - I
fell over again...
Switched back to normal pedals and rode back to Dave's - totally
shattered - not at all a happy camper...
Now trying SPD's instead of SPD-SL's... the pedals are Dave's - they're
old and a bit worn - new cleats - seems OK - but only on the trainer so
far - absolutely no confidence to take it off the trainer yet.... ARGH!!
Oh yeah - skinned knee and LOTS of bruising - again - I think Dave's
getting a bit sick of picking me up and trying to put the pieces back
together again.....

Kathy wrote:
Claes wrote:


Oh no!
I know how you feel though (or at least partly...) Was prepared to leave
(new) bike at velo two days ago and walk home - give up cycling for good...
My problem - fell off old bike and broke wrist, fell off Dave's bike and
scratched it up as well as hole in jersey, fell off new bike and hurt
right thumb and left shoulder, tried cleats and new shoes... Firstly on
trainer (note to all - they work just like training wheels and don't
teach you about the real world..!) and was doing just fine at getting
feet into AND out of cleats - so Dave felt that it was time to go down
the velo and do a few laps in reality... That's when I found out that
the action required to remove foot from cleat was sufficient to throw
body weight totally off - in the direction of the foot that is still
clipped in!!!****!!! So - one lap of velo - fell off spectacularly (and
thanks if you're on here to the bloke in the blue jersey who DIDN'T run
into me as I slid down the ashphalt AND asked on the next lap if I was
OK....)


Suggestion - practice this stuff on a flat surface. A nice carpark
or similar, perhaps not a velodrone to start with. Which velodrone
were you doing this at?

and, SPD-SL's and SPD's are (from the PoV of disengaging) identical,
and if anything, you'll need to flick out your heel further
in old SPDs than in newish SPD-SL's. Just back off the tension to
its lowest setting. You'll get it ...

Kathy Wrote:
Claes wrote:

Bike serviced a few months ago, came out with rear wheel out of dish,
so
now I have scraped off paint on the chain stay. Trying to get that
fixed
today.

Last 3 pair of gloves have lasted less than 3 weeks before a seam
has
ripped. Handed last pair in today.

Pedals have been gone for warranty repair/service, comes back after
6
weeks, just as bad as before. Waiting for manager to call me today.

Last ride, new tool, adjusted seat, scratched the seatpost. It ended
up
with a puncture not far down beach road, then the rain starts, got
home
wet and cold, and the bike covered in sand and muck, WTF is that
stuff
that your bike gets smeared in when it rains on beach road?

I have just lost it, everything with cycling at the moment just end
up
in tears. Not fun anymore.


Oh no!
I know how you feel though (or at least partly...) Was prepared to
leave
(new) bike at velo two days ago and walk home - give up cycling for
good...
My problem - fell off old bike and broke wrist, fell off Dave's bike
and
scratched it up as well as hole in jersey, fell off new bike and hurt
right thumb and left shoulder, tried cleats and new shoes... Firstly
on
trainer (note to all - they work just like training wheels and don't
teach you about the real world..!) and was doing just fine at getting
feet into AND out of cleats - so Dave felt that it was time to go down
the velo and do a few laps in reality... That's when I found out that
the action required to remove foot from cleat was sufficient to throw
body weight totally off - in the direction of the foot that is still
clipped in!!!****!!! So - one lap of velo - fell off spectacularly
(and
thanks if you're on here to the bloke in the blue jersey who DIDN'T
run
into me as I slid down the ashphalt AND asked on the next lap if I was
OK....) - sit in grass for a while - go and do another lap riding off
onto grass so that at least any fall wasn't going to hurt as much -
and
Dave there to grab me - did that twice - nerves totally shattered...
Eventually decided to move over onto grass area on other side of fence
-
supposedly safer - where I stood for somewhere up to about half an
hour
TOTALLY unable to lift my left foot off the ground and try to clip it
in
and then try and get out again... When I finally did - guess what - I
fell over again...
Switched back to normal pedals and rode back to Dave's - totally
shattered - not at all a happy camper...
Now trying SPD's instead of SPD-SL's... the pedals are Dave's -
they're
old and a bit worn - new cleats - seems OK - but only on the trainer
so
far - absolutely no confidence to take it off the trainer yet....
ARGH!!
Oh yeah - skinned knee and LOTS of bruising - again - I think Dave's
getting a bit sick of picking me up and trying to put the pieces back
together again.....
Auch Kathy, that sounds real bad, find some pedals you like and you
will get the hang of it.


Osc...This is what has happened this month pretty much. Start of the
year, three abscesses after a sort of nasty kite surfing incident, kept
me off the bike for months. I also have problems with my right calf,
real high up towards the knee, gets very sore when I ride, keeps me off
the bike.
Oh, yeah, I forgat to tell you, I have not been allowed to run since I
was 21, I suffer from Perthes Disease, which means that I will probably
have to replace my hip before the age of 40. Every step I take, every
second of the day, I feel that ****ing hip, sometimes the pain is so
bad I limp quite bad, sometimes, very very rarely, I can NOT get out of
bed.

Sorry, this was not meant to be a sob story but at the mo, everything
is ****ed. Do not get me started about work too.


--
Claes

Bleve Wrote:
Claes wrote:
Bike serviced a few months ago, came out with rear wheel out of dish,
so
now I have scraped off paint on the chain stay. Trying to get that
fixed
today.

Last 3 pair of gloves have lasted less than 3 weeks before a seam
has
ripped. Handed last pair in today.

Pedals have been gone for warranty repair/service, comes back after
6
weeks, just as bad as before. Waiting for manager to call me today.

Last ride, new tool, adjusted seat, scratched the seatpost. It ended
up
with a puncture not far down beach road, then the rain starts, got
home
wet and cold, and the bike covered in sand and muck, WTF is that
stuff
that your bike gets smeared in when it rains on beach road?

road grime. It's oil, grease, dust, dirt, sand, spit, water, rubber,
salt, bird ****, glass, tar ...

I have just lost it, everything with cycling at the moment just end
up
in tears. Not fun anymore.

Which shop did the shonky work on the wheel and pedals?!
Pedals are time Impact mag, the Time importers ****ed upp. I will not
keep those pedals whatever happens.
Wheels, well, they are fixing it today after some arguments, so
reserving judgment on that one.


--
Claes

Claes Wrote:
Bike serviced a few months ago, came out with rear wheel out of dish, so
now I have scraped off paint on the chain stay. Trying to get that fixed
today.

Last 3 pair of gloves have lasted less than 3 weeks before a seam has
ripped. Handed last pair in today.

Pedals have been gone for warranty repair/service, comes back after 6
weeks, just as bad as before. Waiting for manager to call me today.

Last ride, new tool, adjusted seat, scratched the seatpost. It ended up
with a puncture not far down beach road, then the rain starts, got home
wet and cold, and the bike covered in sand and muck, WTF is that stuff
that your bike gets smeared in when it rains on beach road?

I have just lost it, everything with cycling at the moment just end up
in tears. Not fun anymore.
There is always tomorrow


--
MikeyOz

Bleve wrote:

Kathy wrote:

Claes wrote:


Oh no!
I know how you feel though (or at least partly...) Was prepared to leave
(new) bike at velo two days ago and walk home - give up cycling for good...
My problem - fell off old bike and broke wrist, fell off Dave's bike and
scratched it up as well as hole in jersey, fell off new bike and hurt
right thumb and left shoulder, tried cleats and new shoes... Firstly on
trainer (note to all - they work just like training wheels and don't
teach you about the real world..!) and was doing just fine at getting
feet into AND out of cleats - so Dave felt that it was time to go down
the velo and do a few laps in reality... That's when I found out that
the action required to remove foot from cleat was sufficient to throw
body weight totally off - in the direction of the foot that is still
clipped in!!!****!!! So - one lap of velo - fell off spectacularly (and
thanks if you're on here to the bloke in the blue jersey who DIDN'T run
into me as I slid down the ashphalt AND asked on the next lap if I was
OK....)



Suggestion - practice this stuff on a flat surface. A nice carpark
or similar, perhaps not a velodrone to start with. Which velodrone
were you doing this at?

Poor Kath

It was only Hawthorn so nearly flat. She did however have the 2
accidents one has on a velo.. ie falling off then sliding down. Right
on where the start finish line would be if there were one. A lot of
damage for a low speed fall.

and, SPD-SL's and SPD's are (from the PoV of disengaging) identical,
and if anything, you'll need to flick out your heel further
in old SPDs than in newish SPD-SL's. Just back off the tension to
its lowest setting. You'll get it ...


Ummm. No.
I have not used SL before. They are backed all the way off. And if I
have the pedal in one hand and the shoes in the other i can JUST
disengage em by twisting my wrist. And I aint a weak bunny. Now I know
the leverage of a leg is much more. But I can easily disengage my SPDs
with the same test. And in fact I have backed em off absolutely all the
way since so they are sloppier than when I tried that. Yeah the
movement may be greater but the effort is minimal.

Yes the SLs were ajusted right. In fact if I turn em up I cant even
clip em in with the bits in my hands.

Its possible that there is something wrong with the Sls I guess. I
really dont know. I was going to tru em on my shoes but I dont have the
internal plates for them. Im interested cos I have pulled the shoes out
of the cleats a couple of times and was thinking of trying these myself.
They are PD-R540s All advice gratefully received.

Kathys one of these people who need to know how things work. So I have
been showing her the way it all works. Hopefully it starts to come together

Its distressing to see her hurting her confidence (and self) so badly.
A confident kathy is well a good thing.

Dave

-Osc...This is what has happened this month pretty much. Start of the
year, three abscesses after a sort of nasty kite surfing incident, kept
me off the bike for months. I also have problems with my right calf,
real high up towards the knee, gets very sore when I ride, keeps me off
the bike. -
-Oh, yeah, I forgat to tell you, I have not been allowed to run since I
was 21, I suffer from Perthes Disease, which means that I will probably
have to replace my hip before the age of 40. Every step I take, every
second of the day, I feel that ****ing hip, sometimes the pain is so
bad I limp quite bad, sometimes, very very rarely, I can NOT get out of
bed.-
- -
Sorry, this was not meant to be a sob story but at the
mo, everything is ****ed. Do not get me started about work too.

Claes, sounds as though it was the proverbial straw! It's always
therapeutic to share these things though..sometimes helps to see the
lighter side (if there is one!). I certainly wasn't intending to
minimalise the issues either.

I can relate to the calf issue, I have the same problem..intermittantly!
Lots of calf stretching tennis ball work on the calf and luck seem to
work! If you tend to ride a bit 'pointy toed' like me, try working on
keeping the heel down and/or possibly lowering seat a mm or 2 (no more).
It might help

There's still nothing like the enjoyment of being out on the bike when
everything feels good and that is what makes it all worthwhile. Hope
everything improves as much as it can!

Stewart


--
osc