Things I now know not to do next time

[Smokin Joe]

Don't decide to adjust something on your bike ten minutes before the start of a race. And don't put a brand new saddle on the night before a 125 mile ride

 

[Speicher]

Next time I have to dismantle the pipes under the kitchen sink (and the u-bends and the pipe that drains from the dishwasher) I will number the parts and take photographs so that I can work out how to put it back together again.

 

[Dave 123]

When fitting a new seat post ALWAYS fit the saddle back on before a ride....

 

[biggs682]

remember to close the quick release lever

 

[youngoldbloke]

Remember to swap the saddle pack back to the bike you are using for the 125km Audax.

 

[jamsarnie]

Remember to check the tyre for the offending sharp object after replacing a punctured tube.

 

[Holdsworth]

Remember to make sure that the tube isn't caught between the bead and the rim before re-inflating after fixing a puncture.

 

[MontyVeda]

next time i think my hi-fi amp is packing up... double check it's not something else... like my pc... next time i think my pc needs a new sound card... make sure it's not something else, like a reinstall of Winamp... that way i'll save £170 on a nice new amp i didn't need, plus an extra tenner on a sound card i didn't need either.

Next time i decide to resign my PS2 to the 'broken' shelf and buy a new (2nd hand) one... double check that the problem with the sound is actually a fault with the console and not the video card in my PC... that way I'll save £25

i see a pattern emerging

 

[tiswas-steve]

Always make sure your inner tube has a long valve when using deep rims while out on the North Downs so your mini pump can pump up your tyre after suffering a puncture ........

 

[TheDoctor]

When you put your phone down on a bench in France, do remember to pick it up again.

 

[potsy]

When servicing a cup & cone wheel, try not to let the ball bearings scatter to all 4 corners of the room

 

[guitarpete247]

When undoing extremely small screws with nuts behind them remember to put your hand underneath to catch them. Failing that do it over smooth floor like in the garage not over a gravelled area where it disappears never to be found.

 

[Matthew_T]

Remember to not let screws run down the gutter just outside the garage. Because you will end up removing the cover of the gutter to get them.

 

[tyred]

When servicing a cup & cone wheel, try not to let the ball bearings scatter to all 4 corners of the room

I thought that was part of the fun!

Don't ride headfirst into a hawthorn hedge while checking that your tail lamp works

 

[Spinney]

Never carry your cable lock in the opened position.
I know someone who snapped his lock shut at his destination before realising he had left the key at home.

I so very nearly locked my bike to a fence on a Northumberland beach when I'd left my keys on the road several miles away. I was carrying the lock open at the time, but something just made me say 'let me find my keys before you close that...'

We were bike touring. Mr Spinney had to go back for them the next day (being fitter and much faster than me) because by the time I'd realised I'd left them on Lindisfarne, the tide was in... luckily someone had found them and handed them in at the tourist info.

So, total prat for leaving keys on the road, only slightly mitigated by NOT then locking my bike to a fence!