Scared to cycle to far from home

[Angelfishsolo]

Welcome to the forum.
Everyone walks 5 miles with a puncture at some point - its your destiny luke.
Happy cycling.

Everyone -1. I have never had to do that.

 

[lavoisier]

Is It just me who feels like this. Newbie to cycling but in my 50s and trained one way or other all my life. I just do sort of 5mile circuits about the town terrified I get a puncture or something even worse. I want to explore and just dont trust my bike or me lol.

I'm exactly the same. Thought I was on my own. I have Dr sludge tubes with puncture resistant tyres and take about 2-3lbs worth of tools and spares with me just in case!

As I have progressed my confidence has grown but I know that 1 puncture could bring it all crashing down. I am a natural worrier anyway.

Hope you can build up a confidence base slowly as you go further afield.

You could always join something like Cycle Rescue as a means to give you some confidence in case you can't fix it yourself.


Paul

 

[byegad]

Try changing a tube to give you confidence to fix punctures & fit the best puncture resistant tyres you can afford.

If you're not mechanically competent, get a good LBS to service the bike.

Take a mobile with you to use in a real emergency.

Keep at it & your self reliance will soon get you out exploring...

As an aside, I used to live in a "one-horse" town in Berkshire where I met quite a few people who would never venture further than a few miles (10-15) from home in their cars; I found this quite disturbing. Anyone else come across this?

I agree practice at home so a puncture is no longer a problem.

I ride recumbent trikes which are big and won't fit into a bus or taxi so I joined ETA's Bike Rescue scheme. They will pick me and the trike up and take me to a Bike shop or home or back to my car, which will take a trike, if I break down. For a little extra they'll do this if I have a puncture too. I also cover our cars for similar services through them and pay IIRC £27 a year for the cycle cover.
If you just get cycle cover its around £50/annum I think. For peace of mind you may think this would be good value, I didn't bother when I rode uprights as I can manage a puncture OK and a DF will , with a bit of dismantling (Wheels and mudguards off.) go into almost any car a taxi firm would use.

 

[twobiker]

I always carry about 40 quid and a visa card with me and a mobile phone on a long ride,I have found 4 allen keys that fit everything and take two spare tubes and tyre levers,plus a small first aid kit [plasters and savlon]. Had to walk home once five miles, no phone signal,back wheel collapsed,so what ,nice day for a walk.

 

[alci4]

The most i have done is a fifty mile loop which took me about 20 miles from home at most


i am in a similar boat but for different reasons i am weary of going much further in case i run out of steam and cant get home ( i know i could get cab/train phone wife e.t.c. but i feel like that is giving up lol)

i am planning my first century ride from brum to liverpool but to be honest the distance from home does make me nervous where as doing a loop your always not too far from home


have never not made it home yet lol but it's always at the back of my mind

 

[cyberknight]

Oh and if you don't have a bail out phone number, I'd suggest the cycling equivalent of the AA - it's less than £30 a year (I think it's about £16). They won't come out for punctures, but if you blew a rim (ahem) or crashed and damaged the bike, they would get you home.

I have only ever called home once in 25 years, and that was recently when commuting home, went the long way, and the rim exploded.

How long do they take to come out ? and would they come out at 5 am to the middle of nowhere?

 

[ufkacbln]

As above, it is all a mater of confidence.

We have all been in your position, and most of us have picked up our "maintenance skills" over the years, taking on tasks as we have developed. YOu may be able to 'kick start" these skills though

Southampton Cycling Campaign do a maintenance course also some shops such as the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative also do courses


If you Google locally you may find something in your own locality

 

[Globalti]

In your fifties and afraid of getting stuck away from home? You need to get your head sorted.

Buy a cheapo phone like this one: £2.95 phone wrap it in a plastic bag, carry ten quid and some tyre levers, a spare tube and a multi tool and you're OK to go anywhere.

If the worst happens, shoulder the bike and stick out a thumb, farmers and delivery drivers will pick up a cyclist if they can see he's in trouble.

Alternatively programme a taxi number into the phone or call the Memsahib out.

 

[NinjaSeb]

I go out with no pump, no puncture repair kit or spare inner tube and SPD-SL road shoes. If I get a puncture I am screwed and would probably have to walk home in my socks..

 

[vernon]

In your fifties and afraid of getting stuck away from home? You need to get your head sorted.

Buy a cheapo phone like this one: £2.95 phone wrap it in a plastic bag, carry ten quid and some tyre levers, a spare tube and a multi tool and you're OK to go anywhere.

If the worst happens, shoulder the bike and stick out a thumb, farmers and delivery drivers will pick up a cyclist if they can see he's in trouble.

Alternatively programme a taxi number into the phone or call the Memsahib out.

+1

 

[twobiker]

If you start to widen your comfort zone to include perhaps villages or even petrol stations/post offfices/ you will find a longer ride can be constructed whilst still having access to assistance if you require it, and if you come across a rural post office still running please report back.

 

[cyberknight]

Another option is to find your local cycle club or CTC group and join in with a group ride that is the sort of pace you like , there are usually a few members who can fix your bike should the worst happen and they will always have a good selection of bits between them.
You also get to know the area and where the good coffee stops are

My current favourites are
Fradely pool

http://g.co/maps/anah

Tara centre
http://g.co/maps/tsuf

beehive farm
http://g.co/maps/zyvc

 

[Cosmicned]

I cunningly stash a spare inner tube & repair kit/instant repair aerosol jobbie inside an old water bottle on the road bike, so I can remove & take it with me if needed (much better than an un-sightly & tres un-cool saddle bag...) - the other holder has actual drink in it... plus its easy to just swap the 'repair' bottle to the other commuter bike... works for me...

 

[HLaB]

Everyone -1. I have never had to do that.

+1 to that -1 The longest I think I have ever walked is 3/4 of a mile'ish with a snapped chain I don't think I've ever walked with a p'ture.

 

[Arch]

In your fifties and afraid of getting stuck away from home? You need to get your head sorted.

Not entirely helpful...

I agree with doing a few basic maintenance jobs at home as practice - changing a tube is the priority, with learning to fix a puncture next - for speed, take a spare tube to change, and fix the holes at home, but carry a repair kit incase you get two punctures...

(and when changing the tube, make sure you check the inside of the tyre, in case whatever caused the hole is still lodged there, or you just get another hole...)

Remember that if you can do a circuit of where you live, you can manage to never be more than X miles from home - you'll never be able to do a perfect circle, but if you aim to never be more than 3 miles from home, for example (and that's walkable in less than an hour), you can do a circle of diameter about 6 miles, or about 18 miles round. Ok, there won't be roads doing a perfect circuit, but you get the idea.

Also, bear in mind that a bike will take a lot of punishment and carry on - it's a rare problem that leaves you immobilised - even if you have to get home on one gear or whatever.