What's Your Worst "Loss" While Riding?
 

Two years ago my arm warmers fell out of my jersey pocket while I was climbing the west slope of Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park. I looked for them on the way down but had no luck. Still had a few days left on that tour, so it kind of sucked not having them. One theory of mine is that they fell out while I was hanging around at the summit and blew away in the strong breeze.

In '11 I lost a front rack bolt and spacer while riding a rough, unpaved, hilly road in Montana. Didn't notice it until the end of the day's ride. I had a spare bolt but not a spare spacer, so the rack sat sort of funny.

Late 1990s I had an flip style cell phone fall out of my pocket, open up and get stuck in the front derailleur. Destroyed the phone and bent the cage a little. This was back in the day when you leased the phones. Had to pay the cost of the phone, a couple hundred dollars, and start start a new lease.

You jogged my memory. While I did not physically lose my phone, I stopped for a quick dip in a reservoir during a long, really hot and humid ride. Totally submerged myself. Totally forgot that my flip phone was in my jersey pocket. After I got home and showered I prepared to walk to happy hour. I thought to myself "Wait. Let me grab my phone in case I want to order take out for dinner and pick it up on the way home." Took me a few minutes to remember where it was. Pulled it out of my jersey pocket and couldn't understand why it was so wet on the inside. Then it hit me. Dead as fried chicken. Fortunately, it was not leased.

Two come to mind. Shortly after getting home from a tour, I knew I needed to rebuild my pedals (Speedplay Frogs), but I hadn't gotten a round tuit. 25 miles from home, the last of the bearings gave out, and the pedal rotated as it came off the shaft and flew into the ditch. Never found the body, had to make the call of shame. At least it was near the apple orchard, so my wife knew where to find me!

Possibly worse than that was when I'd gone out to Utah a day early, on business, and was riding 200k up to Promontory and back. Stopped for a snack and water on the way back, and in repacking my bar bag I didn't see my wallet fall out. I got very lucky that time. An honest, and persistent, trucker saw the wallet on the ground, called a couple of credit card companies until one of them gave him my number, and then dropped it off at my motel. I'm not sure how I'd have gotten through that trip otherwise. He didn't take any cash, even though I told him to take a couple 20s for his trouble!

I lost a $20 bill once, went right out my jersey pocket while I was getting a clif bar, I suspect. Later that same year I lost a $120 pocket knife through a hole in my front pocket. Then to cap it off my saddle bag fell off around Christmas and ended up costing around $90 to replace all the contents. 2016 was a tough year, financially.

Jammed my iPhone, wallet, and keys in to my saddle bag, along with the flat kit and tool pod, and forgot to zip it closed. After I was about three miles from home on a busy MUP, I heard the sound of the keys bouncing out and hitting the rear wheel. I stopped and immediately found the keys and most of my tools. Then I little further back I found my iPhone. But no wallet! I spent a very long time looking, riding the entire route back and forth very slowly, but nothing. I eventually gave up and went home.

As I was on the phone attempting to cancel my credit cards, the doorbell rang and a good Samaritan was standing there with my wallet! I've personally returned many a lost wallet in my day, so it felt good to be on the other end of it for once! At the end of the day, I just lost a pair of plastic tire levers.

Lunch

Heh. I was leading a club ride several years ago when I noticed a participant's car keys coming close to falling out of her partially unzipped saddle bag. I was pissed at her because she had led some people off route when I asked everyone to stop so I could flip the cue sheet. At first I wasn't going to say anything but rather wait until they fell out then pick them up and enjoy some minutes of panic on her part at the end of the ride, but I couldn't bring myself to be that mean.

A Haro Hardtail MTB. They took the cable lock too, but that wasn't such a loss. I gained some valuable wisdom, but yeah that came at a price. Was a shame.

Someone lost some cash on the Great Allegheny Passage a few weeks ago. I rode right past it without noticing. Later I stopped at a rest area. A group of strangers that I had passed earlier in the morning caught up to me and asked me if I had lost a "wad of cash." I hadn't, and I didn't ask them whether they had just left it there or not.

I did nearly make a very costly mistake when I was touring in Southern Spain nineteen years ago. Stopped on some lonely, very hilly road to change a roll of film. Pulled my fanny pack out of a pannier to get the new roll. Inside the fanny pack was my wallet, passport and all my traveler's checks. Snapped a couple of photos and started riding again. Just as I did I thought I heard a vehicle approaching from behind so I turned back to look. Out of the corner of my left eye I saw the fanny back resting precariously on top of my left, rear pannier. It surely would have fallen on the bumpy descent I was about to start. That would have been a disaster.

I recently lost a suspension pivot bolt from my mountain bike. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't hold a line, and my rear triangle was slapping around noisily.

I watched my Cateye cycling computer tumble off into a storm drain.
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Lost a couple of Podium water bottles as well.

Biggest loss was not riding for 25 years.

First, I lost a camera with picture of me on a 3 day bike packing trip in Colorado. I had the camera clipped to my Camelbak and likely left it on a rock next to a toilet or on the side of the road when I stopped for something. I have no pictures of the ride including a very difficult summit of Tin Cup Pass. To add insult to injury (literally), I bruised ribs and biffed my helmet on the ride. To further add insult, the bruised ribs were done while off the bike and while I was lining up for a photograph. I stumbled over a rock and smashed down on another rock. Sleeping on the ground with bruised ribs is an experience I'd rather not repeat.

But, by far, the worst loss was my keys on the first morning of a 1500 mile trip around Lake Erie. I was breaking camp and had all my stuff ready to go after a brutal night in a 40°F sleeping bag on a night when the temperature dropped to 20°F. I left all my stuff on a picnic table and went off use the Necessary. I came back out to see a bird flying away from my camp only to discover that the keys to my truck...which was parked 40 miles away in Toledo...and my house and, most immediately importantly, the key to my lock on my bike were flying off into the skies over Lake Erie.

I called a local hardware store and asked if they could send someone out with a pair of bolt cutters and was told it would cost at least $100 to which I readily agreed but was eventually told, "No, we just can't spare anyone." I called the office for the state park and was told someone was coming out. After about 45 minutes of freezing my butt off...it still hadn't warmed up much...I flagged down a fellow camper in a car who took me to the hardware store where I purchased their damned bolt cutters ($35) and was taken back just in time for the "someone" from the campground to show up. Thirty seconds later, I handed the stupid bolt cutters back as my donation to the park and was on my way towards Detroit. I was committed to the whole ride no matter what.

Had my wallet fall out of what I thought was a secure outer compartment of a fanny bag. Spent what seemed like hours backtracking trying to find it, cursing the fact that I chose a black wallet, which looks identical to almost every single piece of black tire tread or similar garbage you see by the side of the road. I swore if I ever found the wallet, I'd immediately replace it with a day glow green one (never happened, sadly).

Cancelled all my credit cards, etc., only to get an email that afternoon from the daughter of the farm worker who found my wallet. Every single dollar and everything else was still there, and the girl flat out refused a reward of any kind. Lots of good people out there. :)

What's Your Worst "Loss" While Riding?

I previously posted to this comparable thread,"What's your limit to keep what you found on the road?": After that memorable, life-changing trip we found temporary housing in a slightly seedy rooming house on the now-tony and elegant Beacon Hill. After about two weeks we moved, but could not find our camera with the last roll of pictures of the finale of the ride (very likely stolen). :(

Not much, a couple of tools, a fat Swiss Army Knife... I lost my wallet once but had it returned a few minutes after.

2” of my left leg.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...23af6b22f.jpeg

I have been "dropped" many times. Does that count ?

A couple of Camelback Podium Chills (left on my back bumper after rides). My wallet and phone on one bad day after shredding a back tire. A couple of months ago I ran over my computer when it fell off it's mount.

Patches of skin, blood and half of a tooth.

Wow. I plan on being a lot more careful...

Fortunately, I can honestly say all I've lost is a cheap tail light.

Well, that and over 100 lbs in my first year back in cycling.

While fast descending Mt Hamilton on a cold day, I lowered my head, and my Rudy Project prescription glasses fell off.

This was not good. I need these glasses to see farther than arm’s length, and I couldn’t see well enough to see where they might have ended up. No riding without them, of course, and no cell phone coverage to call for a pickup.

I bent over at the waist and started walking a z-pass search of the road and the roadside. After about 45 minutes of searching, I finally found them about 50 yards from where they fell off, among the weeds in a gully on the opposite side of the road.

Phew! I completed the descent, vowing never to let my glasses slip off again.

This makes me so grateful I was able to have LASIK surgery done!

I lost any illusions about inherent goodness in people when they have a little more power than the next guy.

Put 'em in a car and see how quickly some of them change around pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchairs... anyone a little slower and more vulnerable. People have to choose to be civil. That's too much work for some.

I'm so completely paranoid about losing things, and this thread is making me even more paranoid. I can also be a space cadet, which is how I'll end up taking my pack (which I ride with) off three times making sure everything is zipped up. Me about to shove off: "am I sure I'm sure?"

My turn will come, but no painful losses yet other than most of my mind.