Phil (ascentale)@nickzoic asks:
Q3. Have you ever *needed* rescuing while cycling? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-07/cyclist-rescued-from-snowy-river-police-air-wing/106537314 (wasn't me)
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
ajft [SEC=continvoucly morged]@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite #BikeNite A3 never to the extent of "stuck in a river". Personal rescues have been the "can you come and pick me up, pump & spare tube are in the other bag, not the one I've got"
Acquaintances had an unplanned overnight stay in rainforest bushland when the track they followed from the map turned out to have completely overgrown & they ran out of daylight. SES hauled them out early the next morning, cold, wet, and covered in leeches
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite #BikeNite A3 addendum. I have at times thought I was treading (riding?) the wrong side of the line of my ability to get out of or through and started weighing up unpleasant contingencies
Wandering Hermit@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
A3) When still in my early teens I *needed* rescue to the extent of "I crashed my bike, I have no skin left on one side of my body, can you help me get home?"
There might have been others, but that's the one that sticks in my mind.
Climate Jenny 2.1@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3. Who among us has not biked all the way home from the office only to discover she can’t get into her apartment because she left her keys on the floor of the office garage, ten miles away, and had to call her then-boyfriend to come pick her up and drive her back to the city? #BikeNite
LovesTha🥧@ClimateJenny Not by bike, but when I was doing some photos for my fiancee's best friend's wedding, I locked myself out of the house. My best option was a friend who drove 25 minutes to pick me up, 30 minutes to my fiancee's house to grab a spare key, and back to my place to let me be at the wedding 5 minutes less late than the bride.
That is a very good friend.
daihard (he/him)@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3: Not by police or firefighters, but I called my wife to come pick me up when I fell on the curb and couldn't walk or ride. Turned out to be a fractured kneecap. Ouch. #BikeNite
Demian
Captain Button@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
No but once when I was resting and hydrating from a steep hill I had multiple people ask if I needed help.
Eat This Podcast@cptbutton I can relate.
oheso@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
A3. I've had a friend pick me up when I was tired and it was getting dark. That was decades ago. More recently (but still perhaps a decade ago) I picked myself up out of the gravel on which I'd fallen and cycled home while hoping the road rash would stop seeping blood.
I've become pretty adept with things like flats, broken cables, etc. I can at least limp home (touches wood ... )
rand ❌👑@oheso @ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite Oh, I’ve done that. Got to the clinic, nurse asked how she could help me (before looking up), then just said oh. She asked me not to hit her, as she scrubbed the sand out of my skin, (I complied). #BikeNite
@rand @ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite I was only halfway through cleaning myself up when my partner walked in and nearly fainted.
I think that may also have been the time I learned that road rash isn't going to heal up in a couple of days like it did when I was a teen ...
Mensch, Marina@oheso It takes weeks 
and it does hurt many many days! I don't know any cyclist who has no such experience @rand @ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
and it does hurt many many days! I don't know any cyclist who has no such experience @rand @ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
Sam 
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3 Had to get a ride home last year when I split my shin open to the bone on my fixie pedal. It just Would Not Stop Bleeding, and I was worried about it splitting further.
#BikeTooter #BikeNite
#BikeTooter #BikeNite
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3 #BikeNite My most recent was: first flat on the rear of my long tail cargo bike. I didn't have any method of undoing the nuts on the axle to change the tube.
When help arrived I had instructed which tools to bring badly. An hour later I'd managed to change the tube.
30% further towards home the new tube gave way. But that was only 1km from my mother in laws, so I walked it up the steep hill and left it there. Brought a couple of the right spanners.... etc.
When help arrived I had instructed which tools to bring badly. An hour later I'd managed to change the tube.
30% further towards home the new tube gave way. But that was only 1km from my mother in laws, so I walked it up the steep hill and left it there. Brought a couple of the right spanners.... etc.
Marty Cormack@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
#BikeNite A3:
In September 2010 I had a crash seriously enough to warrant a trip to the Emergency Room. A good Samaritan drove me there after securing my bike at a nearby house.
About 3 years ago I hit a huge rock that was invisible because of the weird sun angle and sliced both of my tires. I was 13 miles from home so I called my wife to "rescue" me.
#BikeNite A3:
In September 2010 I had a crash seriously enough to warrant a trip to the Emergency Room. A good Samaritan drove me there after securing my bike at a nearby house.
About 3 years ago I hit a huge rock that was invisible because of the weird sun angle and sliced both of my tires. I was 13 miles from home so I called my wife to "rescue" me.
Sean Reynolds@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite #BikeNite A3: Once on a borrowed bike, the seat came off a few dozen miles from home and I hit my limit on how far I could ride standing, fortunately a friendly pickup driver took pity on me.
Paul EdwinA3. Not quite, but there's been a few occasions where I've become unexpectedly separated from my bike, and before the inevitable landing I've had time to contemplate how long it would take for my remains to be discovered. (I've got a satellite tracker now, so at least something would be found, eventually.)
f*cking b*tch club@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3: my family (6 of us) were out for a Sunday morning ride when I was 8 or 9. I was pedaling hard down a very steep hill when I hit a pothole and went over the handlebars. Hit my face, but mostly landed on my shoulder, broke my collarbone.
My dad came to a quick stop by putting his knee on the pavement (that took longer to heal than my bone, actually).
A car stopped and gave us a ride to the ER. I have no idea how my mom got the others home.
nick@ascentale @bikenite #bikenite A3: I've needed rescuing a couple of times on motorcycles (one ambulance, one lift to the hospital) but so far so good on pushbikes. I carry first aid stuff and a satellite beacon if going outside civilization ... and I wear walking shoes to make self-rescue a bit easier!
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3. I’ve always been able to self rescue, but I did have my wife pick me up once the last time I broke a chain. I could have scooted home, but it probably would have taken an hour or more.
The other day I saw a kid on a pushbike, and it dawned on me that I could drop my seat, might help with pushing. #BikeNite
@rand @ascentale @bikenite that's actually a cool idea and a good reason if you've got no chain, make a velocipede conversion :-) I did once have to roll the bike 3km back to the car and I was just lucky it was largely downhill.
Bob Jonkman#BikeNite A3: I've never needed to have the emergency services called out for me, but there was the time that I was stranded with a seized rear wheel, and the last bus home was long gone. Had to rely on self-rescue, ie. I took a cab home.
AI6YR Ben@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite #BikeNite A3. No, but my son (first responder/emergency services) has gone on way too many bicycle related medical injuries (all mountain bike accidents, some fairly catastrophic... most people going too fast or falling down badly, with lots of injuries). I don't go mountain biking (though road biking of course brings its own hazards, especially in a Peleton or high speed or of course with cars).
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3. The most serious was after a head on collision with another cyclist, or more of a side swipe. Sliced my pointer finger open on the plastic part of my brake lever. Luckily I was across the street from UW hospital so I walked but did need my wife to pick me up.
#bikenite
#bikenite
thefathippyI walked out when I snapped the head tube off my mtb, & rode & walked out (very carefully) when I broke a rib. And all those other times I was injured... Adrenaline powered? 🤷
Actually, as a kid, I was carted off to hospital in an ambulance, after knocking myself out as I tried to rearrange the road with my face. I guess that's a rescue. That was semi suburbia, though.
isol@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
A3: one crash while avoiding a "Watch for Cyclists" portable sign placed blocking the bike lane.
An elderly couple stopped, and were very excited to try the Emergency button on their new mobile phone.
Another lovely stranger stopped, moved the phone conversation on from "my new phone has got this emergency button, so I pressed it - I hope I'm doing it right" to "this cyclist guy has split his forehead, has badly bleeding hands, but isn't reporting any other injuries, but an ambulance is probably a good idea". She took my bike, and delivered it to my LBS the next day.
I had to self-rescue myself the 7 km walk home from the hospital, and am SO jealous of all of you who blithely say "Oh, I just got my wife / partner / friend to come and rescue me"
Sam H (he/him)@isol @ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
Don't discount all the times a friend/loved one/etc says "I can get to you in about 3 hours" and you have to just walk/limp the next 10km.
Don't discount all the times a friend/loved one/etc says "I can get to you in about 3 hours" and you have to just walk/limp the next 10km.
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
#bikeNite #bikeNiteA
A3
Yes. Although it wasn't very dramatic. On my commute home I started feeling dizzy, then nauseous as well. Pulled up somewhere quiet and phoned my beloved.
My ability to help her put the bike in the back of the car was hampered by me vomiting into a bucket at that point.
#bikeNite #bikeNiteA
A3
Yes. Although it wasn't very dramatic. On my commute home I started feeling dizzy, then nauseous as well. Pulled up somewhere quiet and phoned my beloved.
My ability to help her put the bike in the back of the car was hampered by me vomiting into a bucket at that point.
edd@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3. Never so serious as that, but did get in a wreck caused by an Uber driver illegally parking in a 2 way cycleway. Hobbled to MARTA and had my wife pick me up closer to home in a "rescue". Pretty sure I biked in the next morning. The worst part was there was a cop maybe 50 feet away that chose not to look to keep acting as a largely unneeded crossing guard for adults on the Beltline.
markn🚲@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3. I think this has only happened a couple of times in the last 20 years, which isn't a bad run of luck.
Once upon a time on a cold February day it was 4 Deg & the wind was howling. It rained and rained and then rained a bit more. By the third puncture my hands were useless frozen blocks. I was soaked through & close to hypothermia. I couldn't ride fast to warm up as I couldn't ride.
Toughing it out has limits. I eventually got to a village pub & phoned my lovely wife who rescued me. As she has in many ways over the years.
Makes me cold thinking about it!
Matthew Newell@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes
I once fell asleep due to not eating/drinking enough on a roundabout in Milton Keynes! Police were good about it and insisted on coming with me to nearest supermarket.
My Dad (via cellphone) once had to map-read me home on a convoluted route when the River Riding burst its banks and I thought I was stuck. He knew the area backwards and was able to route me out on higher land
@MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite #bikenite I seriously underestimated a ride recently, thankfully a passing traveler filled up my water bottles[*] but I spent many kilometers wishing for a banana or a peanut butter sandwich ... and when I got to the coast road there was a shop selling banana and peanut butter smoothies[**], which I decided was a good omen and that smoothie rescued me :-)
[*] there was tank water I could have filtered, but it was pretty nasty looking and piss-warm from the sun ... thanks Jan from somewhere near Hamburg for the fresh clean water ...
[**] Anglesea General Store, pretty decent coffee too, just as well because it's a fair climb back towards Torquay ...
@nickzoic @ascentale @bikenite
The rejuvenating qualities of food and water in those circumstances is quite miraculous
@MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite #bikenite yeah and there's a big lesson, sometimes when you're really losing momentum and getting slower and slower it's better to stop and take a break and eat something so you can get back on it at a decent speed.
Actually I've got a whole theory of fractal breaks where you divide rides in half(ish) with a big break and half(ish) again with smaller breaks and so on down to just a periodic moment of mindful consideration of whether you feel like a sip of water or a jellybean.
David S@MatthewNewell @nickzoic @ascentale @bikenite
Be careful, they've been known condemn a rider to perpetually trying to finish a ride (half the ride, then half the remainder, then half the remainder etc and they never arrive!)
@Pionir @MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite it's impossible to work out if you'll ever finish without going ahead and doing it ... that's why they call it bicycle Turing.
@Pionir @MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite yes you have to pick a converging series for your break lengths :-)
Ian R Buck@nickzoic
That's why getting a feed bag was so transformational for me: by constantly eating a little bit at a time, I hardly have to ever stop on long rides!
@MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite
That's why getting a feed bag was so transformational for me: by constantly eating a little bit at a time, I hardly have to ever stop on long rides!
@MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite
@ianrbuck @MatthewNewell @ascentale @bikenite #bikenite yeah I tend to tuck bits and pieces into jersey pockets but I don't really like eating on the move. I'll pause under a shady tree and eat/drink without getting off the bike though.
@nickzoic Anglesea and Torquay in proximity messing with my British geography. :)
@etp @nickzoic @ascentale @bikenite
Not often distances in Australia are less than in Britain.
Torquay and Anglesea, Victoria seem to be about 21km apart.
Torquay (England ) and Anglesey (Wales) are more like 600km.
Wonder when the spelling changed
Adam Blair@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite Only once, I had an exceptionally stupid fall on a flat track road, hit the only rock around with my knee and broke my kneecap 😖. Stumbled to a nearby farm when a guy drove me to a hospital. Sent him a nice bottle of whisky afterwards and now always wear kneepads (while riding).
Megan Lynch (she/her)@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3. Not in the "wildlife search and rescue" sense. As a disabled cyclist, I have more than once found myself in a bad situation when my bike or quad got a flat. While I know how to change a tire, I do not have the hand strength to do so. The quad was an especial problem because it's not like it's easy to take in a car trunk or on a bus rack.
When my quad got a flat (which was shortly after I picked it up from the cycle shop anyway), I called for help, #BikeNite
@ascentale A3 cont'd. None of my friends were answering. I called AAA but they freaked out over it being a quad and refused to help. So I ended up having to stand up and push my e-quad a couple miles. My arms/hands, neck, were wrecked.
That's when I decided to buy Tannus Armour tire inserts.
Iris Young (he/they/she) (PhD)@meganL @ascentale oh shit, that's a real worst case scenario. Shame on AAA especially.
@iris @ascentale Yeah. That's a question anyone with a "funny bike" should ask of AAA or Better World Club when buying the insurance - make sure they don't make excuses based on your type of cycle. #BikeNite
Inky says "What the hell?!"@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3. Ok story time. So back when my kid was still in the Adams trail-a-bike we were going for a fall Sunday ride along the D&L in one of the places where the trail is hardpack. And I'm on my old Schwinn Traveler towing the kid.
I hit a stick big enough to jam the ISO 630 wheels and send me over the handlebars to land on my back/side in the path. Kid gets popped off the seat and lands safely on their butt in the leaves to one side. 1/ #BikeNite
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite I'm torn up along my left arm and my bike is wreaked. So while I apply first aid, why I keep a kit with me, my wife rides off to get the car and bring it closer than the 5 miles it was parked from the crash site. They move to a place about .4 miles away which is also the driveway to the local boat club. They then ride back to me and kid and we walk to to the car. We get home and I finish cleaning myself up and heal up in a few days.
2/end
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
A3. A couple of years back I took off on a damned fool ride, on my own, without checking the profile. There were some glorious downhill swoops, for which I had to pay dearly. I had on two energy bars with me, and bonked a couple of times. On one, a bloke stopped to ask if I needed help, and I stubbornly refused. I made it safely home, and it was a lesson learned.
George B@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
I've had 3 unrecoverable mechanical issues on camping trips. I was lucky on each one.
First one was a camping trip a few days after a crash. I was fine but my wheel was busted. I had trued it right before the trip but I used an adjustable wrench from under the sink instead of a spoke wrench and it was my first time truing a wheel so when we were riding down the mountain it started loosening. It was good enough to make it to the ferry and then I took a bus home.
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
The second time my friends decided to take a train home and I decided to bike. About an hour after we parted ways at a brewery my rear derailleur exploded. Luckily I was near the next train station on the line and got on to see that we all got on the same train (at different stations)
@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite
The third time I was riding with front panniers and one of the hooks got caught in my front wheel and ripped a spoke out. We were close enough to camp that I was able to ride it in and one of the people with us had driven there so I was able to stick my bike in her car and get dropped off at a commuter rail station near her place.
Asphalt and Earth@ascentale @nickzoic @bikenite A3 Like others the only rescues I’ve even needed have been from friends and family. Normally because of mechanical failures. I remember at the start of the COVID lockdown going on a long ride and buckling my wheel so badly in a pothole that it wouldn’t spin. My wife had to drive and pick me up.
JF 
Luke