• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Become a Premium Member
  • About

Road Bike Rider Cycling Site

Expert road cycling advice, since 2001

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Bikes & Gear
  • Training & Health
  • Reviews
  • Cycling Ebooks
    • Ebooks Training
    • Ebooks Skills
    • E-Articles Training
    • E-Articles Nutrition
  • Member Area
  • Newsletter

Stupid Bike Tricks

By Scott Martin

In the spirit of RBR’s mission to inform and inspire, I’ve decided to reveal a couple of the stupidest cycling things I’ve ever done.

Why? I guarantee that after reading these screw-ups, you will feel better about your bicycling expertise. Even if you started riding yesterday.

My earliest doozy happened after I crashed my first good bike and mangled the frame. The parts looked okay, so I went to the bike shop and bought a new frame. Things went smoothly until I tried to install the seatpost. It wouldn’t quite fit.

I grabbed a hammer and a block of wood and started pounding. I finally got the post a half-inch into the seat tube. Mostly because I’d ripped an inch-long gash down the tube. Uh-oh.

I returned the frame to the shop. There I learned that seatposts come in different sizes and that you don’t actually die of embarrassment — even if you want to.

Another big foul-up came while racing in a criterium. I got dropped and was soon riding alone. Head down, I rounded a corner, sprinted . . . and slammed into a car. Not a moving car, mind you. A car that had been parked there all day.

The road rash healed fast and I soon got another new bike. But it was years before I could go on a group ride without some comedian yelling, “Watch out, Scott — parked car ahead!”

There’s more, of course. Like my “chocolate skim milk is the perfect athletic food” debacle. And the infamous bike/roof rack/garage incident. I could go on. Unfortunately, I did.


Scott Martin has been writing about cycling for more than 15 years. He worked as an editor for Bicycling magazine for 10 of them and wrote the “Scott’s Spin” column for RBR, from which this is republished. He has also covered cycling for several national magazines.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gary Turney says

    August 6, 2020 at 9:39 am

    Uh, what’s wrong with chocolate skim milk? Asking for a friend.

    Reply
  2. Bruce Wessinger says

    August 7, 2020 at 8:56 am

    Thanks for the article. I thought I was the only one to run into the back of a parked car!
    Frame broken, finger broken, pride broken. But I lived to ride again.

    Reply
  3. Tim Evans says

    August 10, 2020 at 1:38 am

    Yes, what is the negative implication about chocolate milk, skim or otherwise?

    Reply
  4. Kenneth Pierce says

    August 13, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    With the milk thing I would guess he tried consuming it on the bike, while riding. Chocolate milk is great for post-ride recovery though.
    My worst stupid foul up was trying to bunny hop onto a sidewalk while riding to the trail head and the rear wheel catching the curb. Needless to say I took a horrible fall and ended up in hospital for 6 weeks and 3 surgeries.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Recent Articles

  • Newsletter Issue No. 1054
  • ‘Connect’ to Diet-Reverses-Diabetes Study: Even If You Don’t Have the Disease
  • My New Bike: Trek Checkpoint SL 5
  • Weak Muscles Predict Accelerated Aging, Disability and Death

Recent Newsletters

Newsletter Issue No. 1054

Newsletter Issue No. 1053

Newsletter Issue No. 1052

Newsletter Issue No. 1051

Newsletter Issue No. 1050

Footer

Affiliate Disclosure

Our cycling expert editors and writers choose every product we review. We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy from one of our product links, at no extra cost to you. This income supports our site.

Follow Us

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook

Privacy Policy

Still Haven’t Found What You’re Looking For?

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...