Those stories are fantastic. Mine not as good but I sometimes wonder if not having formal bicycle mechanics training helps me to try things before I decide they will not work. Coming from the MTB crowd as I did, I rode a lot of single track alone and if you broke down in the middle of nowhere or trashed your bike you better figure out how to fix it or your are in trouble.
This carried over into my road bike riding and especially true of vintage bike because they are steel and more forgiving and they are more prone to breakdown because they are in used condition most of the time.
I remember on a ride a few years ago while doing some hills one of the riders broke his rear shifter cable, so as you guessed, it would have been a pain to ride the rest of the hills in the highest gear. You probably have all done this but I just took the remaining cable and pulled it to where there was a comfortable gear for the rider and tied it to a fixed point on the frame so he could finish the ride which he did. Have also done the dollar bill trick on a tire blow out. All of these little bits of self reliance allows me to ride further knowing that I will at least be able to get back home on my own.
The most unusual thing I have ever seen for a repair on the go was a really bent wheel after an accident. I would have taken out a spoke wrench and tried my best to make the wheel rideable and possibly loosen the brake calipers as part of the temporary fix. Well I saw a guy take the wheel, tire and all and just locate the area that needed correction. He then proceeded to just whale it against a tree over and over till he got the desired results. I'll be dammed, it worked.
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ