Embarrasing Moments

[Ben M]

While coasting across a petrol station forecourt on my way to the shop, I was admiring the rear view of the woman reaching into the boot of her Mondeo and I hit a concrete bollard and fell off

Was it worth the pain?

my two most embarrassing cycling moments, in chronological order:

1.
Me and two mates picking up our bikes, mine was ready, while the others were having stuff sorted still, I decide to go around the shop a bit with one foot clipped in, as SPDs were new to me and I wanted to play. Needless to say, having my left foot free didn't really help when I fell on the right onto a display of kids' bikes.

2.
We went for a ride a couple of days later, and we stopped so that one of the others could adjust his seat. We stopped on the right hand side of the road as there was a wide pavement. When we went to set off again a car was coming from the left, but there was ample time to get out infront of it if we got going. I cocked up, and ended up falling in a heap with my feet clipped in. The nice lady int he cr stopped to ask if I was okay, as my mates just laughed at me.

 

[Wheeledweenie]

I'm a size 14 and I wear lycra, does that count?

If not, it's definitely falling into a canal. The path's really worn into a u-shape, someone had put a piece of planking across the towpath on a blind bend and I couldn't regain control. No one saw and I had to pull myself out but the embarrassment was not only having to ring the office and say I was going to be late because I had fallen into a canal and needed a tetanus jab, not only was it then telling the chairman of the company (Michael Heseltine) about it in the lift when I was still in the surreal cloud after it had happened, but it was also the fact it was 1 April and everyone thought I was joking because it was such a ridiculous thing to have happened.

Managed to throw my bike clear though!

 

[Ben M]

I'm a size 14 and I wear lycra, does that count?

If not, it's definitely falling into a canal. The path's really worn into a u-shape, someone had put a piece of planking across the towpath on a blind bend and I couldn't regain control. No one saw and I had to pull myself out but the embarrassment was not only having to ring the office and say I was going to be late because I had fallen into a canal and needed a tetanus jab, not only was it then telling the chairman of the company (Michael Heseltine) about it in the lift when I was still in the surreal cloud after it had happened, but it was also the fact it was 1 April and everyone thought I was joking because it was such a ridiculous thing to have happened.

Managed to throw my bike clear though!

You were very lucky that it was a full canal, or it could have been very serious indeed. And good job on saving your bike.

 

[The Jayler]

Years ago when i got to work i used to have to park the bike in the underground car park, the entrance to which was in front of the smoking area full of about 20 smokers.
Got to the entrance to wave my pass over the sensor to open the gates and forgot my feet were still cliped in. Comically i was informed i just fell onto the road still clipped in.
As i was new there poeple soon learnt my name.

 

[Wheeledweenie]

You were very lucky that it was a full canal, or it could have been very serious indeed. And good job on saving your bike.

It's around three metres deep in the middle so I was rather pleased I went in instead of the bike. Roger (my Pinnacle stratus) doesn't swim, but I do!

 

[g00se]

Borrowed my other half's tourer with straps. Was pootling down the main traffic-calmed shopping road and came up close behind two stopped, parallel busses - one in the bus stop - one in the road. Unhooked my left foot and stopped. Then pushed off slowly and turned right to head to the offside to see if I could get around the one in the road and filter outside the traffic. I then remembered the traffic calming would cut me off so I turned the bike left to drift up behind the bus....

Of course, it's only a foot or two and I'm just about rolling - so the bike falls over to the right and I forget the strap and slowly and gracefully roll over onto my back with the bike on top of me.

To make it worse - it's right in front of a bus stop - with a load of pensioners waiting for the trip home. I pick myself up and try to nonchalantly push it up onto the pavement to hear one old fella say to his wife "what happened there"? She replied: "I think he was trying to do a wheelie"?! BTW - I'm in my forties.....

 

[Jane Smart]

Goose that is funny

 

[Hont]

Actually laughed out loud at that, Goose.

I failed to unclip once at a junction and toppled over sideways. As I picked myself up I noticed my next door neighbour was behind in his car. I furiously pretended that I'd had a mechanical by fiddling with the rear brake. I don't think he bought it.

 

[HLaB]

I think my most embarassing moment has been a clipless moment or two Everybody asking 'are you OK, anything hurt ?' just my pride .

 

[Jane Smart]

I had one today also, but fortunately I was by myself. Going through the woods I came across this 20 foot "mud bath " in the middle of the path. Unfortuately I could not go either side of it, so decided to cycle through it, you know as you do.

So I did. I got stuck in the middle as it was like quick sand, the bike just ground to a halt. I just sat there thinking what do I do now? Well what I did not do was put my nice white training shoe in that, it would get muddy, so of course the bike fell over, landing me in the mud. BOTH my trainers we full of mud, my bike and me - were also muddy! Did I feel stupid

Oh and when I fell over, the handle bar hit me in the leg, so now I have not only a bruise on my leg, but an egg shaped lump too

 

[Arch]

Mine would be pulling up at the side of the road to take my coat off, putting a foot out to the verge and finding that the verge was actually lower than the tarmac, not higher - it was just long grass. I leaned over, kept leaning and ended up rolling right over and slithering down into the ditch under the hedge, still 'on' my bike.

I had to be hauled out by the couple of people riding behind me, as I was quite wedged in, upside down, wheels spinning slowly, feet on pedals.

 

[just4fun]

1 mile after leaving the shop with my new feet strapping (im sure thats not the correct term!) i was turning into a narrow alley way when some1 walked out, i went to go around them and lost my balance, so i went to put my foot down (big mistake) i ended up being jammed against the wall with my arm pinned against the wall and my foot restricted so i couldnt get my foot out. the person i swearved to aviod just said "easy mate" and walked off leaving me there stuck

 

[NormanD]

While out shopping in the metro centre with the wife (just before Christmas) we met up with her cousin and 11 month old little daughter, for whom I'm god parent, I promptly picked her with glee out of her push chair to hold her up, arms out stretched, to say “what a big girl she’s getting”.

Only to be met with a full face of projectile vomit, not once , not twice but three showers of the milky gunky slime (how can a young child hold so much?) to the laughs and sniggers of hundreds of Christmas shoppers as they witnessed this.

Being I was wearing all black jacket / trousers/ T-shirt, I promptly handed the child to her mother, both wife and her cousin with the immortal words “awww poor baby” thinking it was me they were directing that at … no it wasn’t. So there I am standing there dripping milky slime the consistency of porridge from my face and shoulders.

You know how embarrassing it is walking to the toilets to get cleaned up dripping milky slime all over the place, noticing to the expression on the faces of people as you pass them, to find the toilets are closed for maintenance! Then having to walk the whole length of the place, to the other toilets.

I managed to clean most of it off, but still had a number of strange looks from people a little later while still shopping; I hadn’t taken into account that milky slime turns powdery white on black when it dries.. What does the wife have to say … You’re embarrassing me looking like that!

Now I greet kids in their push chairs from a distance

Norm

 

[HLaB]

Actually thinking about it my most embarrassing moment wasn't with clipless it was with straps. A cycle path to the train station goes over a small bridge with barriers when to take the foot out and it was stuck It was in the earlier hours of the morning and pitch black, nobody will see it; how wrong was I there was a ped not far behind. He asked me if it I was OK and was it ice? I stupidly said no to the latter I think that was when I decided to go clipless.

 

[ComedyPilot]

Mine would be pulling up at the side of the road to take my coat off, putting a foot out to the verge and finding that the verge was actually lower than the tarmac, not higher - it was just long grass. I leaned over, kept leaning and ended up rolling right over and slithering down into the ditch under the hedge, still 'on' my bike.

I had to be hauled out by the couple of people riding behind me, as I was quite wedged in, upside down, wheels spinning slowly, feet on pedals.

PMSL

Mrs CP did the self same thing last weekend, pulled up behind me, letting a cage past, put her foot down on long grass, and over she went.