My Bicycle... Keeping Me In Stitches

[K'Tesh]

Riding into work today... I'm at an intersection, the light is green, and I'm trying to get through it fast... Of course that was when my right side's pedal extender decided to snap off, and gash my leg (just above the ankle).

Nothing quite trying to ride a bike to work (so they know I'm not goldbricking) with a foot slipping in its own blood, and get to a hospital... A few stitches later, and I get the day off.

FUN!!! (NOT!!!!)

At least it doesn't hurt, much. But my right side bum might for a few days (The Joys of Tetanus Shots).

 

[NateB]

I have some similar "tattoos" from slipping off flat pedals with set screws as pins. It's a special feeling for sure. Why are there so many nerves on that part of our legs?

 

[bjphoenix]

The last time I had a bicycle injury I had stitches from my forehead down to the bottom of my chin. I tried to get the doctor to make my look like Brad Pitt but he wouldn't cooperate, at least I still look sort of human.

 

[bad_idea]

The last time I had a bicycle injury I had stitches from my forehead down to the bottom of my chin. I tried to get the doctor to make my look like Brad Pitt but he wouldn't cooperate, at least I still look sort of human.

If your scars are still visible, I never noticed. That may of course be because I'm so often distracted by a cool rocket you've built or a cool watch you're wearing.

Hoping to make this month's DARS launch, which would be my first of 2023.

 

[K'Tesh]

I have some similar "tattoos" from slipping off flat pedals with set screws as pins. It's a special feeling for sure. Why are there so many nerves on that part of our legs?

OUCH!!!

 

[Hobie1dog]

he best part of this was getting the day off

 

[K'Tesh]

he best part of this was getting the day off

With no way to get around, a bike that is still stuck at work (and will be for at least two more days (and still will be broken))... I'd rather have done the work, and not the bleeding.

 

[SolarYellow]

C'mon. We all know you just failed to get your foot out of the toe clip until it was too late and you just caught the teeth of the pedal when hitting the ground.

 

[K'Tesh]

C'mon. We all know you just failed to get your foot out of the toe clip until it was too late and you just caught the teeth of the pedal when hitting the ground.

I don't have clipless shoes here in China.



What I do have is a sandal full of blood though in that picture.

 

[bad_idea]

Somehow last night even with your use of the word "today", I didn't realize this was a current event instead of something from the past. Get well soon!

 

[Funkworks]

Always wear a helmet and gloves. I've cracked 2 helmets in my "career". Once on a mountain trail, once on the road. I can't imagine riding without one.

 

[K'Tesh]

Here's the piece that got me...




The mechanics couldn't figure out how to extract it from the crank arm... So they tried "percussive maintenance".



I came up with the idea that worked though... Insert a Hex wrench, and a screw driver and the force of the two against the inside of the stub. That was able to allow them get a grip on it, and get it to unscrew.

Now we need to figure out how to get the pedals free of the old extenders, and replace the extenders. I'm also looking to get a new rear tire (the old one is getting a little long in the tooth), and a tune up.

Oh, and the headwind I had to ride (using loaner pedals) in to get home was brutal... From the bike shop to my school (the hospital is a little further than that), it's a straight shot, and if the traffic and lights are with me, I could easily hit 40 mph, coasting. Today, I had to pedal in granny gears to be able just to make 6 mph. Needless to say... I F****** hurt right now.

Oh, and for those who know and care about this kind of issue... My bike riding style is firmly in the Fred camp... Clydesdale class.

 

[cbrarick]

pedal extenders? Uggh. Speedplay X1 or nothing. no way that's gonna get you

they don't use ez-outs there? you can also tap in a bolt, use the correct direction to tighten the bolt and get it off...

 

[cbrarick]

what's all the stuff on your bars?

 

[K'Tesh]

what's all the stuff on your bars?

Lights, more lights, an electronic horn, a bell, a computer, a bar extender, and a cup holder (Double Gulp sized), and my helmet is hanging by its straps in the photo.

 

[K'Tesh]

pedal extenders? Uggh. Speedplay X1 or nothing. no way that's gonna get you

No... I can't use those with my shoes, on a mountain bike.

they don't use ez-outs there? you can also tap in a bolt, use the correct direction to tighten the bolt and get it off...

Apparently not... We got the stub out of the crank arm, but the part that is stuck on the pedal has no exposed threads for a bolt to be threaded onto.

 

[OverTheTop]

Oh, and the headwind I had to ride (using loaner pedals) in to get home was brutal... From the bike shop to my school (the hospital is a little further than that), it's a straight shot, and if the traffic and lights are with me, I could easily hit 40 mph, coasting. Today, I had to pedal in granny gears to be able just to make 6 mph. Needless to say... I F****** hurt right now.

Don't you just hate days like that. I have had a couple over the years, between work and home, where just trying to stay above 6kph was a struggle.

 

[K'Tesh]

Don't you just hate days like that. I have had a couple over the years, between work and home, where just trying to stay above 6kph was a struggle.

Yesterday I got this message on my phone... (Translation by WeChat)



I'm not 100% what they mean by "gusts up to 10" (it's certainly not 10 Kph)... I'm thinking it's from the Beaufort Scale:


Currently winds are from the south at 24 Kph, but the forecast for rain starts around 1am.

 

[OverTheTop]

I would guess Beaufort too. Very challenging when riding into the teeth of it.

 

[cbrarick]

Lights, more lights, an electronic horn, a bell, a computer, a bar extender, and a cup holder (Double Gulp sized), and my helmet is hanging by its straps in the photo.

wow! Those are some busy bars. Our riding styles and locations are vastly different, though.

Hope your leg heals quickly

 

[K'Tesh]

wow! Those are some busy bars. Our riding styles and locations are vastly different, though.

Hope your leg heals quickly

Thanks!
Here's an older everyday dashbar photo:



And full "Captain Dashbar" mode...




To accommodate all the batteries for the NiteRider Halogen lights, I made that bag.

Oh... That was missing a bar extender... Here we go... Ultimate Captain Dashbar Mode:

 

[K'Tesh]

I would guess Beaufort too. Very challenging when riding into the teeth of it.

Kickstand Comics featuring Yehuda Moon

Comic strip about a guy who lives on a bicycle and works at the Kickstand Cyclery.

yehudamoon.com

Funny thing (not)... Yesterday, I exited my apartment to go to the doctor's office, found my front tire was flat. Took the bike outside so I could see what I was doing. What was funny was how the locals were so surprised to see a foreigner who had a patch kit, and knew how to use it. Less than a block away, I could have taken the bike to a bike repair stand, and they were encouraging me to use it, until they saw that I knew what I was doing.

 

[OverTheTop]

Do you run Slime, or another tire sealant, in your tubes? When I was commuting every day I did that. I hated punctures. One day the tire went flat and I cursed the Slime for not doing its job. Funny thing was when I pulled the tube out (I always carried a spare) there were five holes. It had already blocked four, but the last was too big (1/4").

 

[CalebJ]

Why so many lights?

 

[NateB]

When I commuted by bike, I had fenders, a rear rack with a bag on top and a 3 LED blinky red light. Handlebars had a single Dinotte brand 200 lumen LED headlamp powered by 4 rechargeable AA batteries. I did bend a standard bottle cage so it would accommodate my travel coffee mug.



Even when I trail ride at night. I use one headlight on my bars and a second on my helmet so I can see where I'm looking too.

 

[CalebJ]

When I commuted by bike, I had fenders, a rear rack with a bag on top and a 3 LED blinky red light. Handlebars had a single Dinotte brand 200 lumen LED headlamp powered by 4 rechargeable AA batteries. I did bend a standard bottle cage so it would accommodate my travel coffee mug.

View attachment 578756

Even when I trail ride at night. I use one headlight on my bars and a second on my helmet so I can see where I'm looking too.

Good call on the secondary helmet light. I was on a ride a couple of months ago with a sharp downward turn coming off a mountain and i couldn't find the road surface at all with the light on the bars. Next night ride I'll definitely add something to the helmet.

 

[OverTheTop]

I have custom-built my headlights. Two 10W LEDS in separate housings. I need to keep them facing down (hot spot about 10' out) or cars flash their high-beams at me. Really good visibility, and if off-road the throw is amazing.

 

[NateB]

I tried DIY LED lights around 15 years ago using some Cree boards mounted inside aluminum tubing with some copper inside as a heatsink. It worked and still depended on airflow while moving to keep everything cool enough. The housing still got hot enough I was worried about it, so I eventually went the commercial route.

 

[ONAWHIM]

Be it bicycle or motorcycle I ride like every driver out there is out to hit me.
All the gear, all the time.

 

[K'Tesh]

Do you run Slime, or another tire sealant, in your tubes? When I was commuting every day I did that. I hated punctures. One day the tire went flat and I cursed the Slime for not doing its job. Funny thing was when I pulled the tube out (I always carried a spare) there were five holes. It had already blocked four, but the last was too big (1/4").

Stateside? Yes... Here? No... I can't find it. However, every day, individuals who are on the public dime earn a living by sweeping and picking up trash. I've only had 2 flats from foreign damage since I arrived in China 7 1/2 years ago.

Stateside, I learned about slime when I kept getting flats in S. Oregon due to goathead thorns. I was able slow the amount of times I was needing to patch my tires from once a day to about once a month. I counted 70 punctures before I stopped counting. The bike was able to keep enough air to ride to work, or to home, but would go flat shortly after the ride stopped. On my Cycle Oregon 2009 ride, I had no flats on the entire trip. But several others had a lot of flats on day 4 (That was the day that I was actually was able to stay ahead of many of the folks who were riding road bikes)