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Quitting rides

05.03.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

Got out today on a beautiful Sunday morning ride. Because I was riding with my wife, we hadn’t planned to go too far — about 13 miles.

Halfway into the ride, I got a flat.

The good news is, I’m getting a lot faster at fixing flats on the road. The bad news is, I’m getting a lot faster at fixing flats on the road.

I got moving again, and after some easy riding to assess the performance of the new tube, I continued the ride. I finished the distance we had planned. I was never more than six miles from the house, and if needed I could have phoned Pat to bring out the car and pick me up.

Sag Wagon
Sag Wagon

As I considered this possibility, now that I was riding without a backup tube, I remembered the MS 150. One of the sights that sticks in my mind was the large number of SAG vans along the route. After the halfway point, I saw more and more riders waving down the vans and catching rides to the finish.

Having to sag in might be an ignominious end to a ride, but it happens.

The question is, how bad do things have to get before you decide to pack it in and flag down assistance?

I didn’t need to do it today, but I have done it — more than I’d like to recall. I bonked once, and simply couldn’t turn the pedals anymore. Sag in. I got a blowout, and although I had a spare tube, I didn’t have a spare tire. Sag in. I had multiple flats on one ride, and not enough spare tubes or a patch kit. Call for help. I crashed, and was too sore to make it all the way home. Call for help. I flatted, and wasted my CO2 cartridges. Call for a ride home.

These incidents wouldn’t force some riders to quit. They’re out to finish the ride they started, and nothing will keep them from the completion of their appointed rounds (apologies to the Postal Service). They’ll pull McGyver-like stunts to get their bikes moving again, in the face of all odds. They’ll HTFU and come back from illness, cramping, or too little sustenance and somehow finish the ride. They’ll stick with it when the weather turns sour, and fight through wind, rain, and even snow.

I will press on most of the time, but that’s if I’m fatigued. And usually in those cases, I simply rode out too far, and face a longer ride home than I really want to do. That’s when I suck it up and stay at it.

How important is it to you to finish the ride you started?

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Comments

  1. msbirge says

    May 3, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    Rode the Sam’s MS150 yesterday. We were at the last break point, mile 72, when they called it due to weather and told everyone they would be sagged in. As they were making the announcement several riders took off, including three ride marshals. The rain wasn’t too bad so my boyfriend and I decided to complete the last 16 miles. It began raining pretty steadily but was tolerable until the last 5 miles when the wind made the rain feel like hail. Needless to say we crossed the finish line, and even though I was very soggy, I felt great that I finished without the SAG. Sad Day 2 was canceled because of rain – yet there wasn’t any.

    Reply
    • rainycamp says

      May 3, 2009 at 9:13 pm

      The MS 150s are having a bad year this year, weather-wise.

      Reply
  2. trainingfromabarkalounger says

    May 3, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    Natural competitive nature in me tends to make every Charity ride a race. I know that’s stupid. Charity rides are supposed to be fun “smell the roses” bonding events. Every time I start I tell my buddies, I’m taking it easy this time, and every time I end up chasing the guys who go out hard.

    I’m always determined to finish. I sagged a ride this year due to mechanical (after a crash), but after trying about everying on earth to finish. In DNF’d in my first race this year as my tubular rolled off the rim.

    That said there is no sense damaging your gear or your health on a ride. If your bike is broke and riding on will make it worse, stop. If you are too hot, sick, out of food or water, or just “bonked”, stop…stop and survive to ride another day.

    Reply
    • Nico says

      May 4, 2009 at 12:14 pm

      I wholeheartedly agree here… know when to push yourself… but stop and survive to ride another day!

      Reply
  3. rae says

    May 3, 2009 at 10:05 pm

    I always gut it out, even when I end up paying for it with terrible pain later. It’s a very dumb pride thing. Never had a mechanical failure, knock on wood. The only time G and I have had to get a ride was when we were out riding around the city and darkness caught us without lights. Had to call the brother-in-law. Big bummer.

    Reply
  4. Mike Weiland says

    May 4, 2009 at 6:41 am

    I’ve SAGged a few times on Limecreek due to mechanical problems of one thing or another. I’ve walked it once when I was about 1 1/2 from home. The only time I’ve had to have my wife come get me of any great distance is when I had 2 flats and knee problems on the back roads around Liberty Hill. Then there was the time I crashed and got a concussion, had to call a coworker to come scrape me and my bike off the pavement. So if I have you on speed dial and I’m riding in your neighborhood there’s a good chance I could be calling.

    Reply
  5. wirehead says

    May 5, 2009 at 11:35 am

    I’ve called for a ride twice.

    First time I feel dumb about. I flatted (Which I fixed) and then I bent the chain when I got the whole works back together. The correct thing to do would have been to use the chain tool, but I didn’t know how.

    Won’t make that mistake again.

    Second time, I flatted, realized that the tire (same one as before) had a sidewall failure, so I decided to call the wife for a ride home because I didn’t feel like wasting another tube on a stupid tire.

    I should note that my “out on a long ride” trunk bag keeps getting more items added to it as I discover what’s likely to go wrong. I’m pretty sure it’s going to get a folding tire added to it as soon as I get around to buying one. Because all of my rides are mixed terrain road + mountain rides and I really don’t want to have to walk with my bike eight miles to the trailhead.

    Reply

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