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Does cycling drive you to madness?

benno68benno68 Posts: 1,689
edited August 2009 in Commuting chat
At about 00:30 this morning I thought to myself "am I bl00dy mad?". At the time I was on my hands and knees at the bottom of my garden under a worklight looking for a small black grommet from my front brake that had fallen onto the grass - I didn't find it :twisted:

Had my neighbours seen me they would probably have questioned my sanity - again :wink:

My bike has been out of action since Sunday with the front brake seizing, I was also waiting to fit new tyres. So I decided to start doing a mini service at 10:30 last night.

Anyone else had a cycling related - am I mad moment?
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Pinarello Dogma 2 (ex Team SKY) 2012
Cube Agree GTC Ultegra 2012
Giant Defy 105 2009

Posts

  • CafewandaCafewanda Posts: 2,788
    Benno, you'll find it was right in front of you. You just didn't look properly :)

    Not had that kind of a mad moment yet, but I would agree that you were :P
  • KiblamsKiblams Posts: 2,423
    Unfortunatly as a bodger of anything I own, this has happened to me many occasions and sometimes past 1am :(
    HandsomeDog - OrangeCommuter
  • benno68benno68 Posts: 1,689
    Nice one guys, yes a few people have said I'm mad - but that's another story :D

    @Cafewanda - I had another good hunt around this morning when I was putting the chain back on - no sign of it, yes I was crawling around the garden in broad daylight - there's no hope for me :D .

    O god, am I the only one that has ever questioned myself about this. I have asked myself the question on more than one occasion, like when I decided to cycle up Caerphilly Mountain and felt like spewing and passing out at the top - getting to the top was a great feeling in a strange sort of way.
    _________________________________________________

    Pinarello Dogma 2 (ex Team SKY) 2012
    Cube Agree GTC Ultegra 2012
    Giant Defy 105 2009
  • CafewandaCafewanda Posts: 2,788
    :D You ain't the only one. A few weeks ago, it rained and I had the option of staying home, using a brolly and eventually London transport or getting soaked on the bike. Guess which option I chose? I had a great ride too :lol:
  • always_tyredalways_tyred Posts: 4,965
    Cycling saves me from madness.
  • cjcpcjcp Posts: 13,345
    Always Tyred wrote:
    Cycling saves me from madness.

    +1. I'd be barking at the Moon by now if it weren't for cycling.

    That's not to say I do't drive myself to the very brink of madness by dropping thinks like Powerlinks, ruining the ends of cables and getting oil on my clothes.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • JameyJamey Posts: 2,152
    My chain is currently one whole link too short because a few months back when I was cleaning it I managed to lose a roller from one of the loose ends of the chain.

    The time I spent searching for the missing roller on the ground was approximately ten times longer than it would've taken to just accept defeat right away and immediately shorten the chain to the next inner link (which is exactly what I ended up doing after wasting time searching for the roller).
    My photography // My helmet cam videos // My bike
  • mudcoveredmudcovered Posts: 725
    Benno68 wrote:
    At about 00:30 this morning I thought to myself "am I bl00dy mad?". At the time I was on my hands and knees at the bottom of my garden under a worklight looking for a small black grommet from my front brake that had fallen onto the grass - I didn't find it :twisted:

    I must have looked at bit like that to my neighbours on Sunday. :oops: Was replacing gear cables and fiting a new front brake. I'd removed the gear cable but left the retaining bolt loose in the derailleur. I then removed the old brake, fitted the new one and went for a quick spin up the road to check the brake install. Then I came back and tried to fit the new gear cable only to find the bolt had dropped off during my check ride. Cue much wandering about in the street looking for a bolt and clip about the size of my fingernail.

    I did find it eventually. Took about 5mins of searching all the while looking like I was just aimlessly wandering around the road. :?

    Mike
  • Jay dubbleUJay dubbleU Posts: 3,159
    Cycling saves my sanity - bad day in the office - hard ride home - stress gone
  • Rich158Rich158 Posts: 2,348
    cjcp wrote:
    Always Tyred wrote:
    Cycling saves me from madness.

    +1. I'd be barking at the Moon by now if it weren't for cycling.

    That's not to say I do't drive myself to the very brink of madness by dropping thinks like Powerlinks, ruining the ends of cables and getting oil on my clothes.

    +1. Every item of clothing I own has an oil stain somewhere :shock: I think of it as personalising my wardrobe :wink:
    pain is temporary, the glory of beating your mates to the top of the hill lasts forever.....................

    Revised FCN - 2
  • patchypatchy Posts: 779
    my hands were covered in grease when i got into work on Monday, My assistant said to me 'have a puncture'? I replied:" No, i was just fettling last night and can't quite get the grime off...'

    I like to think of the oil as a temporary tattoo...

    :)
    point your handlebars towards the heavens and sweat like you're in hell
  • Stone GliderStone Glider Posts: 1,227
    No, it pedals you there. Did you see what I did there?

    I'll fetch my coat :oops:
    The older I get the faster I was
  • cyberknightcyberknight Posts: 1,238
    cjcp wrote:
    Always Tyred wrote:
    Cycling saves me from madness.

    +1. I'd be barking at the Moon by now if it weren't for cycling.

    That's not to say I do't drive myself to the very brink of madness by dropping thinks like Powerlinks, ruining the ends of cables and getting oil on my clothes.

    HHHHHHoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwLLLLLLLLLL !! :lol:

    It keeps me calmer , had nearly 2 weeks off the bike due to having in the shop and then my "holiday " = stripping artex off the kitchen ceiling and i am about ready to bounce off the walls, thank frell i am in work tommorow so i can get some cycleazipan :wink:
    FCN 3/5/9
  • NGaleNGale Posts: 1,866
    cycling home at 7am this morning certinally felt like I was mad.

    Mind you over taking the boat on the canal was a good feeling...does that count as a scalp :lol:
    Officers don't run, it's undignified and panics the men
  • fossyantfossyant Posts: 2,549
    +1. Every item of clothing I own has an oil stain somewhere :shock: I think of it as personalising my wardrobe :wink:

    +2......I even sserviced the fixied in brand new jeans........ :shock:
  • prj45prj45 Posts: 2,208
    I'd put a fridge in my garden if I were you, then anything that falls off your bike will go under it.

    (but only if it's heavy enough not to be able to move)
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  • hisokahisoka Posts: 541
    Doing 40mph+ down a mountain road in Spain towing a trailer with 30kg of gear on it.

    I thought "am I mad?"... didn't slow down though

    But I agree, cycling keeps me sane, I often say that to myself while I am riding in the rain.
    "This area left purposefully blank"
    Sign hung on my head everyday till noon.

    FCN: 11 (apparently)
  • benno68benno68 Posts: 1,689
    prj45 wrote:
    I'd put a fridge in my garden if I were you, then anything that falls off your bike will go under it.

    (but only if it's heavy enough not to be able to move)

    Always useful for keeping some tinnies close by too!

    Grommet still not found! I'll have to see if the part is available from my LBS - not sure how important it is, just hope I don't find out the hard way .
    _________________________________________________

    Pinarello Dogma 2 (ex Team SKY) 2012
    Cube Agree GTC Ultegra 2012
    Giant Defy 105 2009
  • bikesr4ridingbikesr4riding Posts: 53
    Oh yes. On one of many similar ocassions I was preparing my bike for a Sunday ride and found the steering to be a little on the stiff side. Following the dismantling of the entire front end of the bike I spent another 4 hours stripping down a sealed bearing unit which had ceased, the whole thing stripped and cleaned as best as possible and reassembled I got to bed at 3:30 am.

    Nuts! But I enjoyed the ride the following day.
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  • chuckcorkchuckcork Posts: 1,471
    Service bike bits outside in the garden? Are you mad or just looking for small parts to drop off at some unwanted moment, bounce off a blade of grass and into insignificance?
    'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze....
  • benno68benno68 Posts: 1,689
    chuckcork wrote:
    Service bike bits outside in the garden? Are you mad or just looking for small parts to drop off at some unwanted moment, bounce off a blade of grass and into insignificance?

    Yup - excacly what happened. Only other option is servicing the bike in the house - but I've grown quite attached to my [email protected] and like them just where they are :D

    Mowed the grass on Sunday so no hope of finding it now. I can't buy the bit but the brake is working fine anyway.
    _________________________________________________

    Pinarello Dogma 2 (ex Team SKY) 2012
    Cube Agree GTC Ultegra 2012
    Giant Defy 105 2009
  • Kieran_BurnsKieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    Well - I may have to take the bike out for a quick ride. I found Slack Hill over the weekend,

    164358_36a18f5d.jpg

    That may be the perfect hill for killing yourself at 60mph. :shock: (the one facing not the one that the camera is on)

    From the top, it looks scary in a car, never mind a bloody bike. It maxs out at a 1 in 8.
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
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  • benno68benno68 Posts: 1,689
    Kieran_Burns wrote:
    Well - I may have to take the bike out for a quick ride. I found Slack Hill over the weekend,

    164358_36a18f5d.jpg

    That may be the perfect hill for killing yourself at 60mph. :shock: (the one facing not the one that the camera is on)

    From the top, it looks scary in a car, never mind a bloody bike. It maxs out at a 1 in 8.

    Sounds like a hill that would just as easily kill me doing 5mph - the other way :D

    Kieron - it's got to be done mate.

    I hit 52mph (my PB) yesterday - see picture 3 on the attached link.

    http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.urban75.org/photos/wales/images/graig-llanishen-03.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.urban75.org/photos/wales/graig-llanishen-cardiff.html&usg=__OkA0QY-q3bTw_wVvZ1BTgQyWjjk=&h=285&w=425&sz=41&hl=en&start=34&tbnid=2plbXPkfMZdITM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcaerphilly%2Bmountain%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20
    _________________________________________________

    Pinarello Dogma 2 (ex Team SKY) 2012
    Cube Agree GTC Ultegra 2012
    Giant Defy 105 2009
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