Hey everyone,
last Friday I treated myself to a Tout Terrain Scrambler Xplore GT II. I've been an avid e-bike rider for a long time, but recently decided I want to use my legs as the motor again. Since I got the bike, I’ve been super excited — it's perfectly sized for me, runs great with SPD pedals, and it just feels awesome to ride.
But… it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster start:
On my very first ride, I had to go through a ton of mud — the bike was absolutely filthy by the end. So I had to clean it right away after day one.
On Sunday, I did my first proper tour: 50 km out, which went great. But on the way back, I got caught in extreme headwinds and then a sudden downpour. I ended up completely soaked for an hour. To top it off, while putting on my rain jacket I accidentally scratched the frame on a rock. 😭
And today, during a short 10 km ride, a bee flew into my helmet and stung me. Now I have a killer headache.
So now I’m wondering — is something higher trying to tell me to stop? Or is this just normal "breaking in" chaos and I should stick with it? Would love to hear your thoughts or any similar "rough start" stories!
by That_Opportunity_759
50 Comments
cycling builds character, that’s all. enjoy it.
Shut up man. Go ride your bike. ✌️
Check the meteo and especially the wind and it’s direction before planning a ride.
Checking to see what sub I’m in……
I’d just keep on trucking. Good that you’re back on an acoustic bike.
Sounds like you are looking for an excuse to give up on the bike, and go back to the electric one .🤣
Nice ride! Keep it. I love my e-bike, but I still have my human powered hybrid for when I don’t need to take kids places and such…i don’t do many long rides like you… it’s a tool for some errands and such
??? Embrace the struggle and get back out there! Cycling isn’t always easy. All of those things sound routine. Did you have fun? Did you get a nice workout in? That’s all that matters.
The universe does not send you messages – unless it is that you should check the weather before riding.
You don’t need to clean off the mud after every ride – unless your drive is fully coated.
Some stuff is preventable – plan your route, check the weather and road conditions, bring appropiate tools, water and food. But even after all of that, sometimes shit happens. Whether you stick to it or not, it’s your call.
I’ve gone from having a heatstroke at 37°C, numb fingers at freezing morning commutes to work, to being chased by dogs at >10% slope hills, but most of the time my rides are cool and I’m always wanting to get back on the saddle.
This all sounds about right and we all have these stories. Brighter days are always ahead when peddling forward.
Did you enjoy it? Minus the bee sting of course. Even if the weather sucked, were you happy you were out there?
Even if you weren’t having a lot of fun in the moment of the suck, after the ride did you look back on it and go like, yep, glad I rode today.
If yes, keep at it!
Bikes with scratches are used bikes. If you manage to ruin it, you get to buy a new one! Win – win!
You are not so important that god/karma/the universe will manifest an entire rain storm over a geographic area specifically because you bought a bike.
Get over yourself and enjoy the rides.
clean a bike …
why ?
So, will you give up the day you fall down ?
Dude. Whaaaaaaaa. Ride your bike.
Rule #5
You got that out of the way
Now go ride your bike
Wear it out and get a better one. This is the way
Embrace it, lean into it, enjoy the process. It will get better.
I’d look at this as a positive. You bought a bike capable of epic adventures like riding through mud, or prevailing through a torrential rainstorm *because* you wanted to have epic adventures. Goal achieved, and now anything that gets thrown at you is minor after handling this!
that pretty cool lightweight setup
Check the weather before you leave. I found this out the hard way last summer halfway through a 50mile loop in the middle of a forest getting hit with torrential rain and with lightning breaking over my head. At least it was warm though.
Oh yes, I clearly see the sign. It says you should ride more to have more cool stories.
This sounds so much like me with my new roadbike. Sometimes I just don’t want to ride anymore. But I always come back a week later.
Your bike should endure some rain and mud, especially since it is using gearbox and belt drive. I want to own one with Ti frame someday (Like Priority Gemini for instance).
Is your Scrambler steel or to? Not sure how to deal with scratch on steel frame to keep away rust. Is there invisible coating for that?
Take it as a sign and give the bike to me, I will take good care of it!
You should take all that junk off your bike if youre only doing 50km. So much added weight…
Perfect riding weather is a unicorn.
Not even sure what an e-bike would have done otherwise. The bee wouldn’t have come at you on an e-bike or something?
I just finished a 4 day long tour. On the first day, just after leaving the train to the starting point I forgot to unclip my spd shoe and felt down. The wheel got twisted as well as the saddle and handlebar. I was devasted and i felt like you – like some higher force tried to stop me from going on that tour.
But I managed to find a local bike service and convinced the guy to come in after hours to fix my bike and 4 days later I’ve just finished the tour and it was awesome.
You overcame obstacles in your way that shows you are resilient and tough. Keep pushing forward
Sounds like you just need to spend more money on your gear, maybe a new frame, that one is no longer structurally sound
I think you should quit. Sounds like it’s not for you. I can come by and dispose of the useless bike for you to save you the effort…
The struggle makes it more fun. Otherwise it is just a normal ride in the park.
If you take these things as a sign you shouldn’t ride anymore, then you shouldn’t ride anymore.
But that’s not the universe telling you not to ride. That’s just you discovering that you don’t want to ride.
Something higher is trying to tell you to take it easy.
a motor is not going to un-soak you or un-sting you. keep pedaling!
just dont clean it, have one of these neon helmet-raincoats over the helmet and thats it about bees and mud. scratches you will have countless more! just don’t worry about them
Hey, you’re gonna have rough days. Just keep at it.
The universe is saying wach your front disc on a rack like that. Just keep going.
There is nothing higher. You had some things happen. On other rides, nothing will happen and you will not once think “Something up there is telling me to ride more”, because 1000 planes landing safely is not news, but one crashing is.
Here is your first bicycle story allready. I call it a great start.
As others have noted, your problems can be addressed by paying attention to weather forecasts and deciding when/how you ride accordingly. If you don’t like getting muddy, don’t ride in foul weather (or avoid dirt/mud surfaces when it’s raining).
Otherwise, find your most comfortable location on the spectrum of…
“cleans+lubes drivetrain religiously”
to
“who cares about dirt, chains are a consumable”
As for the scratch, I know the feeling of dinging something for the first time. Just know that it was going to happen eventually – now you don’t have to worry about it anymore. The way I look at it is this:
You pay money for a bike so you can have one. For it to be yours, you have to use it.
During the Welsh Dragon Ride, it started off super hot so I handed off my rain jacket to my partner at one of the stops and then 30 mins later it decided to hammer down with rain for 3 hours, then I decended and was absolutely frozen, I got stung in head by a horse fly that got trapped in my helmet just before the devils elbow (14% gradient) and I had unbelievable cramp on one of the longest climbs of the ride. Sure I could have stopped at any of those moments but you just got to push on and deal with it. Finished after about 8 hours of riding and climbing absolutely destroyed but not beaten.
Last time I was on a bike I tore my ACL. I’m patiently waiting until I can get back on. All of that sounds like a story for later and a part of life you haven’t lived in a while. You can always quit if you want to, but, you don’t.
Sounds like fairly normal days. Next you’ll get a puncture, and maybe break a spoke.
Is this a joke? Wouldn’t you have gotten any bike dirty in the same situation? Wouldn’t you have scratched the ebike by doing the same thing? What could the bike possibly have to do with getting caught in the rain, the direction of the wind, or a bee sting???
is this a circlejerk post
Keep going. Cycle of life. Nice ride BTW; I think I spilled my yoghurt….
Stuff happens
Deal with it
I still can’t easily remove my wedding ring (my wife doesn’t mind) because of falling and breaking my finger when I couldn’t clip out fast enough once. Early in my clipless riding career. Things happen. Makes you a better rider. And don’t mind the scratch. It’s evidence that you were out riding and not just storing the bike in your garage. Would have happened eventually if not now.