Ride foiled by missing gear

[OakLeaf]

it's really fun when you leave your front wheel at home.

Wheelie!

[lph]

Heh. I bike commute and have more bike gear than I can shake a stick at (which isn't very hard, come to think of it), but I can certainly think of a number of times that my, uh, work attire had been "foiled by missing gear"

I've had to rush out to the local store and buy undies or tights several times, and heavily used wool bike socks have been pressed into service all day. I've only once forgotten pants (and had to wear muddy overtrousers with a nice dressy top ). Since it's now a long way to the closest store I've had the foresight to stock my locker with several changes of clothes, including a least one pair of don't-wanna-wear-unless-desperate undies and bra.

[Biciclista]

yes! i forgot my bike shorts once. All I had on were my tights. Fortunately the riding event we were participating had some vendors and one had a pair of bike shorts that fit me.

My DH forgot his bike SHOES once too. He actually bought another pair that day because he couldn't just drive back home (3 hours) to get his good ones.

[Owlie]

Last weekend, BF and I were driving out to the bike trail. We were in the car, partway there (it's not a long drive) when I realized that I didn't have my helmet. I thought I'd left it in the car when it was floating around in the kitchen somewhere. He freaked out for a bit--he thought I'd left it in Cleveland.

I've also gone back to school without my suitcase. Can you say "Emergency trip to Target"?

[OakLeaf]

Well as long as we're getting drifty - yeah, I've had a lot more gym emergencies than bike ones.

Back in the early '90s when one wore such things, opening my gym bag to find two shiny lycra leotards and no shiny lycra tights. (worked out in jeans)

Around the same period of time, no shoes - and I was wearing my work pumps, so begging them to let me wear my outdoor shoes in the gym wasn't an option; but being a very small Y, working out barefoot was.

More recently, getting to the gym just in time for class and finding DH had swiped the lock off my commuter bike - the German-born owner let me put my bike in the locker room "choost dis vonce."

No bra to change into after my workout - I still do that at least twice a year. Just last week I got out of the shower and found had to put my sweaty sports bra back on again under my clean clothes. (Braless isn't an option for me - the waists of my tops aren't that big! )

[Miranda]

Do you know who this little guy is?



It's actually ME, in disguise... Charlie Brown's Pig Pen character.

My vehicle, and house 'bike area', are total trash. But, guess what? This is the best way I do not lose my stuff. It's hard to miss my Pig Pen pile... and dig a minute... viola!

Ana... my sweaty bike gloves go straight into my sweaty helmet post ride... this sits as the Christmas tree star on top of my bike Pig Pen pile... right next to the bici, of course.

[Cataboo]

Mostly I tend to have multiples of everything and keep them various places - the car keeps one set of shoes, helmet, gloves. the bf's house has another. My house has a 3rd. various other gloves kinda float around. I've got a cycling pack at my house, and another at the bf's. I try to keep a set of gloves in the pocket of the pack, and my helmet attached to the helmet carrier of the bags. I put saddle bags on all my bikes that have all the gear/tools/innertubes necessary for them.

That sort of does keep me straight, but invariably I take the helmet that should be somewhere and leave it somewhere else, and then twice last week I forgot my helmet. that I will always go back to get. Gloves I sometimes will not bother to go back to get depending on how far I got.

Socks I have a hard time finding matching sets.

[MommyBird]

We took a cross country camping vacation last summer that included two nights in Moab, UT. We had four mountain bikes with us for campground transportation and sightseeing but we had to ride Red Rocks since we were there.

As we were getting ready to go my hubby asked for the water bottles. I had eight with us for hiking but they were too big for the bikes. Oops.

We stopped at a local bike shop and purchased some with their logo. They became our souvenirs.

They have also become our favorites. They look basically like your standard Specialized bottle but they are an off brand. They open easier and the lids screw on better. I wish we could get some more!

As for gloves, I purchased two sets of all basic clothing needs when I ramped up my cycling for my new road bike last month. I know from trying to keep hubby in clean gear for 20 years that more is better.

It won't be long and I will be able to justify set #3!
My elliptical is feeling neglected but my plantar fasciitis is even less irritated.

[Pedal Wench]

That's why I carry tons of spares in my "pig-pen" car!

But, once four of us drove to a ride in a friend's car. We got to the start and realized one of them forgot their shorts. We scrounged and figured she could use a pair of boyshort undies. Until we realized I forgot my shorts too. Two out of four of us.

We drove home and rode from there.