raria

We always tell each other about the good tours, but what about the bad ones or the bad touring days.

My worst tour was in France along the Loire de Velo (100's of KM bike trail along the Loire river). Magnificant scenery, great conditions but I had agreed to go along with a friend of a friend. He was the most single annoying guy of all time. I can handle incoherent stories (about fluffy bunnies and peanut butter) or akward stories (his wife wont' do certain things in the sack with him) but the constant "are we there yet" just killed me. I would have dropped him, but he was so hopeless he would never have made it back to society in one piece.

My worst day was last week. Again in France (coincidence) out of the saddle and climbing a hill. Handle bars snap, I go flying forward, handle bar fragment goes flying back towards my groin. Bang. Instant agnory 50km from the nearest sizable town. I cried all the way there.

spinnaker

If this was a friend then how did you not know that he / she would be telling you about fluffy bunnies and peanut butter?

"fluffy bunnies and peanut butter"? Wut?

Abu Mahendra

how did the handlebars snap? what material were they?

raria

Read my OP! Friend of a friend!

The problem is he had this droning voice that went on and on and on. So I would tune in and out. For one story it started up his pet bunny when he was a kid and I tuned out and when I tuned back in again he was talking about PB. He also kept on going on about his great memory and great virtues.

raria

ALU. The snapping was *exactly* like this. Video: Pro rider takes a nasty fall as handlebars are snapped clean off | road.cc

See how is groin hits the head tube? I got the head tube *and* part of the bars. I was climbing so didn't slide as far as him which was fortunate. I think when I was climbing I must have pulled/pushed too much on the bars along with the 30 pound load at the back caused the fatigue.

indyfabz

I've never had a horror tour. I have had some less than fun days, due mostly to weather conditions.

One memorable twenty-four hour period came early during my group x-country trip, which was my first tour. I had never camped before. I asked to be a part of the last pairing of dinner cookers so I could watch and learn from others. When my turn finally came around, the large pot for cooking pasta fell over half way to boil so my partner and I had to start again. Went to re-position one of the Coleman stoves and learned from experience that there are certain parts your should not touch if it's been burning for any length of time. Large, second degree burn on my right index finger. The next morning we were all standing around in camp eating breakfast when it started to snow. Ever try packing a tent with a large, painful burn on your index finger? I was the last person out on the road that morning. At least the snow had stopped--until 3/4 of the way up Sherman Pass--when it started again. Snow intensified during the descent. At one point I stopped and took shelter in the woods, shaking from the cold. When I finally made it to Colville, the camping arrangements were less than ideal. Got a room at a motel. So did most of the others in the group. It felt like heaven. My finger still hurt like hell. But I was man enough not to cry.

djb

close to assploding cf, but just be a scant few cm's forward.

jefnvk

As far as conditions? Probably having to pedal downhill into the wind in Iceland.

As far as trip dynamics? Two guys tagging onto my trip who didn't bother to understand that it was a bicycling trip, not just a vacation using bikes to check out scenery.

But yeah, neither were really horror.

fietsbob

Romania has Bram Stoker fans to thank for making a tourist draw,
into the castles of their Transylvania region.. horror as a tourist draw..




August 91 in eastern bavaria My campsite flooded out, but asking for help, the next few days I was the guest of the village burgermeister & family , so it was actually one of the fond memories of the trip..




...

Leebo

Nothing yet. I tour by myself. There are no bad bike rides, just poor clothing choices, choose wisely.

str

drama ..

antokelly

France for me ,i though Ireland was bad for rain it wouldn't have a look in .monsoon rain for 3 days never let me forget it,i done a uturn for roscoff got the ferry back to Ireland .

3speed

jamawani 

Two cyclists were recently killed in Chaipas, Mexico -
Either run off the road or worse.

I really feel for people who have to ride with chatty partners or have mechanical problems or have a few rainy days.

djb

link please to Mexican incident.

American pancake houses had fatalities also, but I do get your drift. So many people receive bad medical news or are involved in terrible accidents, so puts things in perspective as you point out.

I am serous about the details of what you mentioned, I would like to know the when, where, specifics etc. I rode through that state lat year and am in contact with others going through the general area now. And pancake house reference aside, I suspect unfortunately that in the time I'm writing this, an armed robbery has gone wrong for some unfortunate soul in some regular place in the states.

fietsbob

Oh its fatalities you want?

Elderly father and adult son , on Oregon Coast tour, a few years ago wind shear off the front of a truck
caused the elder man,to lose control , he fell to his left , under the trailer wheels..


there are other ways.
Years ago, I noticed,
Europe has something like guard rails on the heavy goods trailers .. to reduce the occurrence lf this
and small car collisions should happen.
Contrast, US has began putting a plastic skirt in this location,
On their trailers for improved fuel efficiency..

I also noted front guard discs so spinning lug nuts would do less damage if contacted, in Europe,
US drivers put chrome plated spike covers over their front wheels lug nuts..




..

jamawani 

Chiapas link -
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/bod...nd-in-chiapas/

djb

Thanks jama, I'm very sorry to read about this. something fishy probably went on there given that both were found in the ravine, and I tend to doubt how much proper information comes out of the investigation.
I did not ride this specific road, but will remember the details.
my thoughts to those close to these two fellows.

raria

Lets keep it light heartwd and something you have experienced otherwise we'll all get depressed and jittery!

saddlesores

false dichotomy? ....assuming "or worse" implies criminal activity.

sometimes accidents happen:. could have simply gone off the edge of a road with no barrier, didn't see the edge.........foggy, rainy, riding at night, sleepy, distracted, fiddling with gps, not paying attention after 8 hours of continuous riding, etc.

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/201...-cyclists.html

Darth Lefty 

saddlesores

boredom!. riding highway 1 from broome to geraldton. nearly 2000 km of mesquite scrubland, far enough from the coast to prevent the sighting of scenic scenery, but close enough to suffer constant headwinds.

only spot of interest was the stromatolites at hamelin bay. wow! two weeks of riding and the only excitement was some crusty old bacteria.

3speed

jamawani 

The title of the thread is "Horror Tours" - not "Unpleasant Tours" or "Bad Touring Days".
Kinda like Ms. Cosby saying that Bill Cosby was lynched.
Not to mention that this thread is juxtaposed with the thread on the deaths of two riders in Mexico.

BTW, I was sexually assaulted and almost killed on a tour many years ago.
(And have toured tens of thousands of miles since.)

The reality is that there ARE considerable risks in touring.
Women - esp. solo women - are at considerably more risk - which is why you rarely see solo women.
"Bike & Build" has had a number of fatalities recently - yet they refuse to advocate for touring safety.
New Zealand, despite its beauty, is profoundly dangerous for cyclists.

"Oh, the horror! I had lots of mosquitoes at my campsite."

<<<>>>

I'll say what I want on these threads - particularly when it is civilly stated and apropo.
Even if it results in personal attacks.

3speed