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I'm an IDIOT and I love awesome people!


lozza6's picture

By lozza6 - Posted on 09 July 2009

Re: This ride meeting: 
SOCIAL Nightride @ Terrey Hills [DH & C]

So, here is my story.

Monday night was commuting home across the bridge. As I was braking towards the end of the run for the stairs down, I noticed some scratchy feeling/noise coming from my front brakes.... As I was pulling up to the ramp was deciding whether to go ahead riding down or not and at the last minute pulled off and walked down. Checked the issue at the bottom and found that 1 of my pads were down to the metal so lucky I didn't ride down!

OK so no dramas, its an uphill grind home anyway. Get home, replace 1 pad and leave the other half worn pad in there. Works a treat.

Commuting to work the next morning happily in the rain. Buzzing down King street after the bridge and suddenly on braking the front lever goes to the bar.. *oh shit*! Focussed on the rear and pumped the front a few times. Grip came back but there was this awful metal on metal noise.. Being lazy just finished the commute in to work relying heavily on the rears...

Get into work and have a look.... what? 1 pad is missing! It must have flung out as I was coming down King Street! Shocked Pumped the braked till the piston came onto the disc!!! Shocked THATS what that lovely noise was!! eek!

Now maybe I saw things to come or by just sheer luck I actually had 2 sets of spare pads in my backpack. Before leaving the office I went down to fix the issue armed with the best tools one could ask for.... an unlimited supply of office stationery. Decided on the scissors and went to work on my bike. Popped in some worn pads and went to down separating the pistons... and lo and behold, the inside piston is seized something solid. Two brand new pads sat stug up against each other with no room for a disc.... No amount of scissoring could set this piston back in place!! I also realised how much these office scissors flex! Shocked

It was late and I gave up... popped a blank pad in and again rode home care of the rears.

Got home and went to fixing for another time. With some proper tools, I managed to set the piston straight with a screwdriver and then push it back into plaze, HAZAH! Popped in 2 new pads and was back in business. Checked the rears and they were within 1mm of worn so changed them too! All four new pads, very happy!

Flip bike over to find brake fluid and leaked from the reservoir at the top?!?!?! Stupid Magura Julies?? They don't like being upside down? And yes, lucky me the front was back to the handlebars.... Fortunately the rears were still ok.

Still commuted in today to and from in the pissing rain again heavy on the rears with some assistance from the front before they reach the bars...

Rushed home tonight to make the ride at TH. Still stinky and wet from the commute home, wasn't really that keen on bush riding. Regardless I had the gear ready to go only to discover those accusing me of breaking a bra-strap were themselves not riding! (mechanical issues pfft....) Sticking out tongue Whatevs.. anyway off to Duck ponds and as we are making our way down the sniggle the heavens opened something savage!! All the way down Duck, I have never experienced riding in such a horrid downpour. I would've been more dry had someone dumped an entire wheelie bin of water over me!! We bailed at the end of duck and scummed it back to the Tav. Keen for a beer and a feed and so desperate to get the sodden gear and clothes covered in mud grit and sand off me I stripped down quickly only to realise I had forgotten shoes! GRRR

In all the hurry to get food and get dry I leant my bike up against the rear of the car and proceeded to delicately change without getting too much sand in the car. Having finished I decided to drive into the Tav to minimise my barefoot walking in the wet. Got out to find my gloves were left on the roof as I drove into the Tav, doh! Had a giggle and chucked them into the car.

Went in and had the tastiest beer and a wicked portion of veal parmigiana at half price care of Paul's lovely 2 for 1 vouchers which he seems to have coming out the wazoo.. Despite being shoeless it was a lovely evening with great company, finally dry and laughing off the earlier wet experience. 10:30 came which meant home time. All jumped in our cars and buzzed home.

So.... did you manage to pick a hole in the story above?

if so.. yes, OUCH!

Drove all the way home to North Sydney, pulled up in my garage popped the boot and got out to unload.......

....
...
..
.

uhh, no bike. Just a whole heap of mud soaked gear...

OH F&%K!

rewind...............

"drive into the Tav" "leant my bike up against the rear of the car"

oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit OH SHIT!

I then proceeded to drive back to the Tav at speed well within the legal speed limits *cough* *cough*

As I made it back to the Tav, I drove down Aumuna Rd with high beams blazing. A thick fog blanketed the road so the high beams made things worse. But I could see... see enough for some heart sinking news to set in.. There was no bike collapsed in a heap on the left side of the shoulder where I had parked and drove off abandoning my $4300 bike... Oh bugger.
I continued on, chucked a U-ey and came back to the exact spot where I had parked hours earlier. The spot was so void I was actually parked on top of my original parking spot. Well You F*%king IDIOT. You get what you deserve.....

.
..
...
....

Surprisingly by this stage, the thick hanging fog had dissipated and I then looked over my right shoulder at the severely overgrown shrubbery that encroaches over the road shoulder... I see a glint and there it is in all its glory, my bike shoved deep into the bushes standing upright!!

Which brings me to the title of this thread. I LOVE AWESOME PEOPLE!

To you, whomever you are, thank you so much for spotting my bike piled in a heap on the side of the road and tucking it into the bushes with the assumption that said idiot would return in hope that it would remain. Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!

Even though this story contained a whole heap of SHIT in the middle.... I'm very happy with it, cos it opened with good luck having decided not to ride down the SHB stairs (Had I attempted it with the minimal front brakes that I had, I'm certain things would've gotten extremely messy) and then finished with the immense luck of my gifted bike not being collected!

So thats my saga.

For this effort, I think I should be crowned King Idiot Eye-wink

Loz

PIVOT MACH 5's picture

Truely a great read mate. Its good to know there are some decent people in the world. And how much more do you love your bike now that you almost lost it? Smiling

christine's picture

ME blondie?
god i laughed when you rang last night - so happy you got the bike back though

Bernd's picture

you need a Mega King Idiot Pink Jersy with 4 bra straps!!!
Bernd

philberesford's picture

Great to hear you got your bike bike back, but front brakes on the SHB ramp? That's not luck that's suicide.

lozza6's picture

Agreed, it would've been total suicide if I decided to ride down it, but yeah.. but made a very lucky last second decision to just walk it as normally i'd always ride down no matter what the condition is like....

Blonde, yes.

pink bra straps, yes.

sooo lucky, *phew*

Buck's picture

Blondie this was you big chance to score a free Reign that you love so much!

Loz.... yes.....idiot week for you Laughing out loud

Damien's picture

So thats what happens when you own a Giant you just drive off and abandone it in the cold and wet would this off happened to a Yeti.

lozza6's picture

maybe it is just brand awareness... after all this Giant cost twice the price of my old Yeti!

Another great thing about owning a Giant I guess then Smiling

Of course we cant really compare until we test a Yeti in the same scenario. Nick, care to test your spanking new beast? Just leave it dumped on the side of the road in a heap next to the Tav from 8:30-10:30 at night as everyone is leaving past it....

its the only way to confirm these suspicions that Yeti's would get nicked in a heartbeat Sticking out tongue

anke13's picture

Thanks for sharing - what a funny story!

I'm glad you got your bike back AND I'm glad someone else has blonde moments, too Smiling

I left my cycling shoes in Centennial Park the other week and luckily someone from my group picked them up...

v's picture

oh Lozza lucky you did not reverse back from where you were parked !! .....ooops pancake bike !
well it was a great story
don't forget your two wheeled friend again Smiling

Carlgroover's picture

I'm trying to imagine how bad you felt when you opened the boot of the car, you are a very lucky boy.
Maybe you should put up a thank you sign where you left your bike.
John.

pikey's picture

....returned to you via being shoved in the bushes because the person that found it thought it was a Specialized. Eye-wink

Anon

Slowpup's picture

Loz, I cringed when I read your tale of woe, and was relieved to hear all was well in the end. I lost a new flashing red light two weeks ago, and am still gutted at my stupidity in fitting it to the loop on the saddle bag not the supplied seatpost clip. Just to save 2 grams. Ended up saving about 40g, at a cost of $44 (not bad keeps to the ratio of 1 gram costs $1 to take off the bike).Sad

How could we possibly test this scenario with a Yeti? A yeti owner (Dylan excepted) would never treat his beast so thoughtlessly as to take it out in the rain and mud, on a cold night. Eye-wink Let alone then leave it forlorny by the side of a dark road.

Have you not noticed since you abandoned the tribe, almost every Yeti pic on the site shows a machine in pristine condition, every chain link polished and gently lubed, tyres lightly buffed..... The only exception being Dylan's Sydney 24 atrocity, which we can forgive him seeing as he was racing at the time.

The Yeti is not even allowed to sleep in the garage yet. In fact it is tucked up nice and warm beside me now, just so it can keep up to date with the daily goings on in NoBMoB.

I'm so anally retentive with packing the car, and superstitious, I don't even want to post this, just in case.

lozza6's picture

Yes I'm ever so thankful to whoever did that. Just as I've finally been able to start getting back on the bike again, then I lose it..... that would've been devastating!

If it were a specialized Pikey, it probably would've been left in a heap by the side of the road as no-body would've bothered to pick it up and set it aside Sticking out tongue

V, It is lucky I didn't back over it... OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I was just parked on the side of the road behind Pikey and just pulled out forwards after him..

arghvee's picture

I would hope my Trance would follow me home like a faithful bloodhound...
A good lesson, thanks.

OzMoT's picture

dude,

the weirdest thing..overheard some dudes at work talking about how they found a bike lying on the road, so they stashed in the bushes and went home to fetch the ute....when he got back some knob had stolen his stolen stolen lost bike....what a tragedy!

Just kidding, but it's nice to see you assume that someone was being thoughtfull!

mOt
P.S - heated seats on naked chutter is actually quite nice!

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