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Old 30 June 2020, 04:25 AM   #1
ArtNouveau
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Woe is me, my Brian May is lost

I fully expect to be chastized mercilessly here for sharing but I'm going to tell you all my cautionary tale. My Brian May LE arrived by Fedex on Tuesday. I am not a NATO fan so I immediately ordered a rubber strap for it. Playing around on Thursday I found that the rubber strap from one of my Turtles was a perfect fit EXCEPT the springbars were not perfect. The ones that came with the watch were skinnier and left some slop at the strap, the fat boys from the Turtle were not a tight fit to the case. It came off once while I was still mounting it so I made a mental note to take it off before doing anything active.
I don't baby any of my watches and on Saturday was at a private mountainbiking ranch and forgot to remove it. Riding with a teenage friend, six miles into the 9 mile lap I noticed it was gone! We rode backwards starting there and unfortunately did not spot it. The first four miles is singletrack in heavy woods with lots of thick undergrowth right up to the trail. Also rocky, rooty, and bumpy. We were going fast enough that it could well have bounced a few feet from the trail instead of dropping to the middle. A few people both on bikes and running went out after us but no one saw it.
I take full blame because I knew it wasn't a perfect fit but don't expect me to not wear nice watches ever again when I ride. Frankly my mtb habit is way more dear to my than me watch hobby. I feel certain it's out there still and will be found eventually. The ranch has posted a Missing Watch flyer with a $50 reward. Mountainbikers are not watch thieves so I'm sure if someone finds it they will turn it in.
It's a good life lesson for me. Material things are just that. The time I spent riding then searching with my young companion was more meaningful than just having a thing. I may go back next weekend and hike the trail looking, I'm not going to seek a replacement as I have faith this one will find its way home.
I'll leave you with a pic I took on the Turtle strap.
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Old 30 June 2020, 04:32 AM   #2
cmhorner17
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Oh no :-( So sorry to hear this!
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Old 30 June 2020, 08:19 AM   #3
ap1
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Sorry dude, bummer
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Old 30 June 2020, 08:22 AM   #4
Old Expat Beast
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So which springbars were on it at the time, fat or skinny?
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Old 30 June 2020, 10:14 AM   #5
Romeojk
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That’s too bad. You could always pick up a metal detector and walk the course.




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Old 30 June 2020, 10:42 AM   #6
ArtNouveau
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast View Post
So which springbars were on it at the time, fat or skinny?
I had the fat boys on and I don’t think they fully opened into the lug holes of the 5.
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Old 30 June 2020, 10:46 AM   #7
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I had the fat boys on and I don’t think they fully opened into the lug holes of the 5.
Yeah, most likely. That's too bad. Hope you find it!
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Old 30 June 2020, 12:15 PM   #8
Dan Pierce
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That's a tough break, sorry.
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Old 30 June 2020, 12:17 PM   #9
brandrea
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That’s a bummer ... any chance you can find it?
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Old 30 June 2020, 12:49 PM   #10
Pw92676
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What a bummer. Hope it finds its way home.
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Old 30 June 2020, 01:29 PM   #11
Styles Bitchley
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What a sinking feeling that must have been. So sorry.
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Old 30 June 2020, 01:30 PM   #12
toxicavenger
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ArtNouveau View Post
I had the fat boys on and I don’t think they fully opened into the lug holes of the 5.
Isn't the Brian May based off of the new Seiko 5 case? If so that watch can't use Seiko fat bars. It uses spring bars with a .8mm tip diameter if I recall. The Seiko fat bars have a 1.1mm tip.

Sorry to hear about the lose.
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Old 30 June 2020, 03:21 PM   #13
Cru Jones
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:-(

Sorry for the pain and thanks for the head’s up for the rest of us.
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Old 30 June 2020, 03:42 PM   #14
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Sorry to hear... +1 on the metal detector idea - perhaps you could borrow/hire one for a day?
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Old 30 June 2020, 09:02 PM   #15
1William
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Oh well.
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Old 30 June 2020, 11:15 PM   #16
Talbel
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Really sorry to hear this. I know how excited you were when you were able to track one down. Hoping for the best.
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Old 1 July 2020, 12:02 AM   #17
scarlet knight
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Sorry to hear. Accidents happen. Hope it turns up. It’s replaceable, so it beats injury or illness on the calamity scale.
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Old 1 July 2020, 01:11 AM   #18
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Sorry man. I wear my watches mountain biking, usually my seiko arnie, g shock but sometimes even my submariner. But this can happen to anyone. My brother lost a gshock he owned for a few weeks while swimming. Even if one is lost, I am a proponent of living life with our watches and sometimes very sadly they get lost.
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Old 1 July 2020, 02:03 AM   #19
ArtNouveau
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Quote:
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Sorry man. I wear my watches mountain biking, usually my seiko arnie, g shock but sometimes even my submariner. But this can happen to anyone. My brother lost a gshock he owned for a few weeks while swimming. Even if one is lost, I am a proponent of living life with our watches and sometimes very sadly they get lost.
Thank you. I will certainly be more careful in the future but it’s always a possibility. The venue where it happened is a private ranch but its trail is always open to the public. I truly believe it will show up, maybe even years from now, but if it doesn’t life will go on.
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Old 1 July 2020, 04:06 AM   #20
Dsmith1974
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Aw man.. tough break losing a watch smack dab in the middle of the honeymoon period. Still, it sounds like you’re taking it the right way!

May it find it’s way back to you.


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Old 1 July 2020, 04:25 AM   #21
Redadmiral2
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On a positive note everybody else that owns one will go up in value as there’s one less available.
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Old 1 July 2020, 09:04 AM   #22
ap1
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Originally Posted by ArtNouveau View Post
Thank you. I will certainly be more careful in the future but it’s always a possibility. The venue where it happened is a private ranch but its trail is always open to the public. I truly believe it will show up, maybe even years from now, but if it doesn’t life will go on.
Imagine the patina when it shows up
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Old 14 July 2020, 04:00 AM   #23
ArtNouveau
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I have an update on my situation. I spent several hours Saturday hiking the trail with a borrowed metal detector. I only got around 2.5 of the 6 miles in but started where I first noticed it missing and went backwards with no luck. I'm giving up for now, it's the proverbial needle in a haystack. The ranch is open to the public and they have a sign posted for my watch. Lots of people ride there so I think it will turn up someday but it might be winter when all the thick brush dies off before it's more visible. First of all I had a forum member offer his up to me at cost. Meanwhile my friend who bought the last one from Timeless also offered his to me. He bought it on a whim and decided after looking at it that he would be unlikely to wear it. We ride together a lot and he loaned me the detector so I now have another Brian May. There are good people in this world. I will be more careful with this one and if the original one does show up I will pay it forward by selling one of them at cost to someone looking here.
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Old 14 July 2020, 04:32 AM   #24
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Nice. Bet it turns up. I am sure that you will reward the finder.
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Old 14 July 2020, 10:36 AM   #25
Mauiguy
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Wow that’s some story. It would be very satisfying to find it with the metal detector, but either way I hope you get it back!

Btw, when it comes mtb, remember this... g-shock is your friend!


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Old 14 July 2020, 01:24 PM   #26
toxicavenger
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Remember what I said above regarding spring bars. The Seiko Fat Bars DO NOT fit the Seiko 5's.

Congrats on getting another one.
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Old 11 October 2020, 11:35 AM   #27
ArtNouveau
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UPDATE! I went to the ranch to ride today and was surprised by the owner telling me that my watch had been found! The previous owner's daughter was walking around the cattle chute and found it lying there separated from its strap. This is a working longhorn ranch but the chute is also part of the trail. 15' or so wide between two fences it's a bumpy downhill and surely has been there since it fell of in June. There's a nick in the bezel that could be just from falling on a rock or it could have been kicked back up from another bike running over it. Pretty cool. Planning on keeping it and selling my second one that I was coincidentally wearing today.
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Old 11 October 2020, 11:41 AM   #28
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Good for you. Congratulations on finding it! Now that watch has a story to make it even more special.
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Old 11 October 2020, 12:05 PM   #29
Romeojk
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Congrats Glad you got it back. I weirdly thought it would appear, go Brian May! Go good neighbors!


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Old 11 October 2020, 12:40 PM   #30
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Congrats on getting it back! I bet it feels much better than the first time you got it!

Honestly I thought it was lost for good! Congrats again!!
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