+Bunganator Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I'm not sure if this has ever been discussed, but here it goes. I'm a college student with no car, so I do most of my caching on my bike. I was getting ready to leave early this morning to clear out some DNF's in downtown St. Paul and pick up a bunch of others on the way. As I'm leaving, I find that my bike tire is flat. Instead of spending the day caching, I get to spend it going to a bike shop. Has anyone else been unexpectedly delayed to keep them from caching? Quote Link to comment
+Totem Clan Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 No unfound caches within 50+ miles. It happens often around here. Quote Link to comment
+new_dharma Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 one day on a flat??? find a new Bike Shop!!! seriously...i like caching by bicycle, and had a day cut short from a flat...having 2 bikes I ride, i have 2 tool kits (different axle-nut sizes)...i grabbed the wrong one and couldn't get my wheel off! ended up walking 7 miles home pushing the bike (with a flat!)... Quote Link to comment
+WRITE SHOP ROBERT Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I do have a car, but faced the same thing when I had engine trouble, except mine ruined a whole weekend. Quote Link to comment
+Sarge104 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 What keeps me from caching, one answer, Uncle Sam! Being out in the middle of the Pacific kinda puts a kink in caching . Thank goodness for port calls! Quote Link to comment
+Zolgar Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Lesse. working a night shift. My asthmatic smoker friend who complains about a round trip hike of a mile. (usually actually just cut caching expeditions short) Lacking transportation. 50,000 other hobbies. Quote Link to comment
+WookieTravs Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I'm not sure if this has ever been discussed, but here it goes. I'm a college student with no car, so I do most of my caching on my bike. I was getting ready to leave early this morning to clear out some DNF's in downtown St. Paul and pick up a bunch of others on the way. As I'm leaving, I find that my bike tire is flat. Instead of spending the day caching, I get to spend it going to a bike shop. Has anyone else been unexpectedly delayed to keep them from caching? Hi! If you don't know how to change a tube, ask your bike shop employees to walk you through it. It's a piece of cake! Pardon me for butting in if you already know how. I hope you get back on the trail soon. Quote Link to comment
+the hermit crabs Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I got to the parking area (a small dirt lot), and there were four cars taking up 5 cars' worth of space. I thought I had enough room to squeeze in at the back edge of the lot... until I heard that horrible crunching sound, and realized that I had backed into a rather sizeable rock. Spent the rest of the day and $800 at the auto body shop. Quote Link to comment
+brodiebunch Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Let's see..... After coming back from vacation (which almost always includes geocaching) we tend to shy away from it for a week or two. Yardwork Other activities with friends who will not go outdoors because they dont like the outdoors. The weather (last Saturday it was 80+ in Seattle, this weekend there is a threat of snow) Distance (and laziness) We like to trade swag and non micro traditional are getting further and further out as we find the local ones. Are these too specific? Quote Link to comment
+Vinny & Sue Team Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 The biggest obstacle to caching in my life is when the voices in my head from the alien space gods in the starship hovering in geosynchronous orbit over Washington DC tell me not to spend time caching, and instruct me instead to kidnap more humans (non-cachers only) to use serve as fuel for the mothership and to serve as android robots in the army of the New World Order, guided by the Bavarian Illuminati. It is a time-consuming and demanding job, fulfilling their never-ending requests. sigh.... Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 No excuses here.... It's MOTIVATION. I average finding a little over 100 finds a year... I WANT to find caches when I travel which is 3 to 5 times a year and sometimes more. I have finds in half of the continental US from coast to coast and a couple foreign countries. I plainly take the caches at home for granted choosing only to hunt what's blatantly convenient or has outstanding word of mouth. I just recently found an AWESOMELY well hidden cache that was hidden just a few yards from the property where I work. Ummm, TWO YEARS ago! Talk about slackin'... However, I dont miss an event within about 75 miles of home unless I absolutely HAVE to. Event attendance accounts for about 1 in 5 of my find stats. Quote Link to comment
+Team Cotati Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 No excuses here.... It's MOTIVATION. I average finding a little over 100 finds a year... I WANT to find caches when I travel which is 3 to 5 times a year and sometimes more. I have finds in half of the continental US from coast to coast and a couple foreign countries. I plainly take the caches at home for granted choosing only to hunt what's blatantly convenient or has outstanding word of mouth. I just recently found an AWESOMELY well hidden cache that was hidden just a few yards from the property where I work. Ummm, TWO YEARS ago! Talk about slackin'... However, I dont miss an event within about 75 miles of home unless I absolutely HAVE to. Event attendance accounts for about 1 in 5 of my find stats. Yes, we've noticed. Quote Link to comment
+Bunganator Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 I'm not sure if this has ever been discussed, but here it goes. I'm a college student with no car, so I do most of my caching on my bike. I was getting ready to leave early this morning to clear out some DNF's in downtown St. Paul and pick up a bunch of others on the way. As I'm leaving, I find that my bike tire is flat. Instead of spending the day caching, I get to spend it going to a bike shop. Has anyone else been unexpectedly delayed to keep them from caching? Hi! If you don't know how to change a tube, ask your bike shop employees to walk you through it. It's a piece of cake! Pardon me for butting in if you already know how. I hope you get back on the trail soon. I was so motivated today that I got to the bike shop about noon (I felt really stupid walking my bike) and had a new tube put in by 1. And you know what that means??? Thats right, I got out caching. I never had to change a bike tube before, but my dad was more than willing to help. However he had limited time and I needed my bike fixed so I could bike to the zoo tomorrow. w00t Quote Link to comment
+The Pathman Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 For the most part, WORK..... Quote Link to comment
+DrgnTrappr Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Well lets see, I have cached as I recovered from losing a kidney to cancer. Cached in the snow, rain, and cold. But I only tried to cache at work once, not alot of caches that allow 75' trucks with six inches of ground clearance. Oh and I hated caching alone. Quote Link to comment
+Keruso Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 right now for me, its getting my vehicle inspected, even though im a month late dont blame me. its my first car............and i wanted to go caching today................. Quote Link to comment
+wyld_bill2003 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Since we started, the only thing that has kept us from caching was a surgery to remove the hardware in my back from a triple fusion. But it only kept us from it for about a month. This addiction is great for rehab, just wish I could get the insurance company to let me claim my travel costs. Quote Link to comment
+DENelson83 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 My lack of personal vehicle and erratic sleep habits have kept me from doing much geocaching lately. I tend to sleep in until about 14:00 local time on average. Quote Link to comment
+Cav Scout Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 My deployemnt to Iraq kept me from finding caches for a while. Quote Link to comment
+Laineybug Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 (edited) Funny I come across this topic when I'm totally bummed about not getting to cache. This weekend my husband is having a kidney stone attack.....::pause for moans:: yes bless his little heart @#%#^$ I was PLANNING on caching all day today then going to the national CITO event in my area tomorrow but noooooooooooo gotta take him to get it blasted. I do love him....lol There has also been work to get in the way, kid issues, headache, college paper due. I will have to say KNOCK ON WOOD I haven't had transportation issues yet. My numbers are so low given how long I've cached. Its getting embarrassing. At least I have more hides then most of my buddies. :-p Hope the bike is back on the trail soon! Edited April 20, 2008 by Laineybug Quote Link to comment
+Hrethgir Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I went to give a try on a couple nearby one the other day on my scooter (just sold that today), put my PDA with the GPS software under the seat, attached the receiver to the rear carrier, ran a headphone cord from under the seat to the speakers in my helmet, and headed out. And as soon as I started the scoot up, it started raining. It was light, so I went anyways. But then it got heavier and even a little hail, so I turned around and went back home. Although I got a decent idea of where one of the caches is, but I didn't get a chance to look for it. Rain + 50 degree weather + wind + motorcycle gear = skipping caching and going home. Once the weather gets better and I get my handheld unit, though, the mountain bike and future motorcycle will be getting some work in! Quote Link to comment
+nthacker66 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I got to the parking area (a small dirt lot), and there were four cars taking up 5 cars' worth of space. I thought I had enough room to squeeze in at the back edge of the lot... until I heard that horrible crunching sound, and realized that I had backed into a rather sizeable rock. Spent the rest of the day and $800 at the auto body shop. Which is yet another reason NOT to back into spots. Quote Link to comment
+Stripes17 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Drove over 400 miles to our old hometown for the weekend getaway and got up to start caching on Sat at 0600 hrs. Gps had the waypoints, printed maps had routes, but I had forgotten to Hot Sync the pda before leaving home. Had to cache blind all weekend, not knowing what we were looking for. That stunk! At least we still found 30 or so. Quote Link to comment
gonegeofishing Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 I don't think this qualifies as technical difficulties. Just the fact that life goes on. I have been working overtime and 1fairygirl is working 40+ and going to school full time. Combine that with some unusually cruddy weather in the Pacific Northwest, caching time has been minimal. Snow in April. So, to turn a negative into a positive, we did the next best thing. We took a little time off and hid a cache close to home. I think it summed up our attitude at the time. GC1B7TR Quote Link to comment
+TMDMom Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 work kids schedules gas prices caching buddies availability (some I'll do alone, but I really prefer caching with my cache buddies) running out of red left handed 15th century Burgundian widgets for swag trades. Quote Link to comment
+KerBear Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 biggest thing keeping me from caching is work. other issues-currently vehicle problems. truck needs some tlc. good thing my friends like to drive. my dog is enrolled in many classes-so that takes away cache time! also, don't like caching by myself. Quote Link to comment
GPS-Hermit Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 (edited) If you want to Cache on the weekend - Don't put your car in the garage on Friday. Sorry, sir your car parts will be in Monday and it won't run right now. Once the WeB site was running so slow it was impossible to search for the caches. That hardly ever happens. Oops Battery Dead! no jumpers! I should KNOW better. Edited April 21, 2008 by GPS-Hermit Quote Link to comment
+GnOArmyChicks Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 had a caching trip cut short when we got a call that our dogs had gotten loose! after recovering from the heart attacks, we high-tailed it home to find them, and thankfully they were ok. Quote Link to comment
+StClairC Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 While it's hardly a technical difficulty, the biggest thing that keeps from caching is my own inability to wake up and get out of the house before dark on weekends Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 My body gives me technical difficulties. Quote Link to comment
+redtech Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 1. Work work 2. House work 3. Mommy work I might have some free time next weekend. Actually I'm taking this Thursday and Friday off. We're taking the kids to St.Louis zoo on Thursday. I might try to stop at a couple caches on the way back. Quote Link to comment
+dew cache Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 My only technical problem is not having enough weekend or too many other things going on. Caching to my wife is about 99 out 100 things to do on the weekend where to me it is in the top 2 or 3 things to do with number one being to keep the wife happy. It seems like for the last several months there is always something to do like cutting trees Couple of weekends and still didn't get them done, or going to Scarboro Faire last weekend, or going to my wife's company picnic next weekend or the weather. The last good day I had geocaching was Good Friday my wife worked and I cached all day woohoo! I just can not find time on the weekend to go. Quote Link to comment
+ak4me Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 My geocaching buddy and I are married, just not to each other. The spouses are turning green and insisting that we have a problem with this game. We constantly invite them to come along, but they always have an excuse for not going. So now we are grounded and restricted from the fun that we love. Any support groups out there? LOL Quote Link to comment
+TotemLake Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 (edited) Brakes neded replacing, radiator disintegrated, accident... all these stopped me from geocaching one time or another. Things like a stolen car, and stolen gps didn't even slow me down to make alternate arrangments. Go figure. Edited April 22, 2008 by TotemLake Quote Link to comment
+terrim Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 How about the time I was getting everything into the car preparing for a day of caching, then drove down the street...and watched my GPS fly off the roof into the street. Smashed. That held me up for 2 days while I had to order a new one and wait for it to be delivered. Otherwise... it's the papers I have to write for classes. Even only taking one class a semester, theology profs have a lot of expectations. I've actually considered dropping the program so I have more time to cache. What the heck, it's my 4th Masters degree, why do I need it anyway? Quote Link to comment
+Sarge104 Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 The biggest obstacle to caching in my life is when the voices in my head from the alien space gods in the starship hovering in geosynchronous orbit over Washington DC tell me not to spend time caching, and instruct me instead to kidnap more humans (non-cachers only) to use serve as fuel for the mothership and to serve as android robots in the army of the New World Order, guided by the Bavarian Illuminati. It is a time-consuming and demanding job, fulfilling their never-ending requests. I for one welcome our new over lords the Bavarian Illuminati. Quote Link to comment
+WeatherednBoston Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 My geocaching buddy and I are married, just not to each other. The spouses are turning green and insisting that we have a problem with this game. We constantly invite them to come along, but they always have an excuse for not going. So now we are grounded and restricted from the fun that we love. Any support groups out there? LOL I guess I do have a major problem. I love caching so much that I try to avoid my non-geocaching friends these days unless it's raining...there isn't enough time for both. Either they like caching or they don't....if they don't well i'm to busy! I'm glad I'm single because if I had a spouse that didn't like to cache I would get a D.I.V.O.R.C.E. But back to the topic at hand: The only thing that has kept my from caching is NO TRESPASSING SIGNS Cant find parking NO Money for gas..(a recent thing) Car acting up Doctor's appointment Work ...and in the summer it's just to hot out so I go early in the morning. People wonder why I go caching at 4 a.m....this is why!!!! It's not just for the FTF's lol ...and I guess lots of DNF's...If I go out one day and I cant find a bunch...that deters me the next day and I take a little break. Quote Link to comment
+adt1982 Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 High gas prices have kept me from caching lately. Quote Link to comment
+adt1982 Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 High gas prices have kept me from caching lately. Quote Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I was so motivated today that I got to the bike shop about noon (I felt really stupid walking my bike) and had a new tube put in by 1. And you know what that means??? Thats right, I got out caching. I never had to change a bike tube before, but my dad was more than willing to help. However he had limited time and I needed my bike fixed so I could bike to the zoo tomorrow. w00t Hey, I hope to do some caching in St. Paul on Saturday. I'll be there for a few days on business and have Saturday afternoon free. I won't have a vehicle so it'll likely be along the riverfront near my hotel. For the person that listed working night shift...there are a couple of prolific local cachers here that work third shift at the same place. They do most of their caching after work (in the morning), usually just about the time that a lot of new caches are published so they get lots of FTFs. Quote Link to comment
+family232 Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 How about realizing you lost your GPSr by probably setting it down at last cache for some stupid reason!!!! Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Grandma. Can't leave home with her. Can't leave home without her. Quote Link to comment
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