Hairiest moment / Dumbest manoeuvre / Closest shave. On a bike!

[Abitrary]

On Bealach-na-ba Sportive the bloke in front of my had a blow out,

Same to you!!!

 

[Globalti]

Back in 1978 I was at Grenoble Uni and I borrowed a racing bike for a ride up a local col. I was coming back down, fast, when a car squeezed me on a LH bend. I strayed onto the gravel, went down and slid over the edge, falling about 20 feet onto a steep stony bank where bike and I fetched up against a sapling. I remember hearing the whine of gears as the car reversed fast then seeing two worried faces peering down at me. I was bleeding all over but declined their offer of a lift back to halls. Unfortunately the front wheel of the bike was a bit distorted, it belonged to an Iranian pal who was there with his mates studying nuclear science.... but that's another story.

 

[asterix]

I slid whilst taking a junction too fast and ended up under a car's front wheels, just as it stopped at the junction.

Much the same happened to me. A VW camper pulled out just as I was passing the junction and caught me side on. I remember falling in front of the thing hoping he found the brakes in time and also that I wasn't hit by the oncoming traffic.

Although it was totally his fault I'd made the classic mistake of not looking at the driver to check he'd seen me before I went past. Just a few scrapes and bruises and a bent bike.

 

[b1bass]

I was on my brother viking racer when I was 11, I managed to get mach 3 coming down the final hill before my house only to relise he has removed the brake blocks for replacement. I tried to make the driveway turn on gravel but ended up head first into a wall without a helmet. Repainted the local area blood red before 12 stitches zipped my brain back in. Still have the scares to prove it.

 

[Bodhbh]

As a kid probably tearing down hill on my Chopper to see how fast I could go, then running out of road and slamming on the front brake, doh. A neighbour found me out cold in the hedge with some smashed up teeth.

 

[Arch]

Back before I'd heard of Cyclecraft and the like, I undertook a left turning bus, at a corner, with pedestrian railings. After I'd straightened the handlebars out, I knew not to do it again.

 

[Fnaar]

Trying to take a corner at speed on my standard kid bike with wobbly wheels and loose mudguards... cars were stopped at traffic lights (I was on green, trying to turn left) skidded across road and hit the road name sign side on. Severley winded, but OK! Two motorists got out to see if I was OK, and one then called me a very silly boy.

 

[gbb]

Aproaching RAB, van in front is indicating right and I make the decision to undertake as I am going straight on. Van changes his mind, puts left indicator on and cuts right across me missing me by less than the width of a fag paper. Lesson learnt

From a drivers point of view, that sounds almost EXACTLY what i did to a motorcyclist earlier this year
Indicating right...i was aware 5 seconds before there was a m/cycle behind me...JUST before the next left exit, i realised i wanted that one.....looked in mirror, indicated at the LAST second and went...forgetting about the m/cycle, who was by then in my blind spot
Christ...how i didnt take him out, i don't know. He had one leg in the air desperately trying to keep control. I pulled over and put my hand up to him in apology (as he shook his fist at me) 'sorry' 'sorry' 'sorry' i mouthed.

I felt so bad for the guy...just minding his own business. My fault entirely.

 

[gbb]

My scariest on a bike...(told this one on a post a while ago)
Came up to a T junction, wanting to turn left. Looked as i approached...lorry coming...got time, and went for it, probably a little late. Lorry was approaching faster than i judged...and he overtook me within millimetres
It seemed like an eternity for his trailer to pass...all so so close.
Made my heart thump ..for quite a while ....

With hindsight..i did cut it close (not scarily close, but maybe uneccessary)....but i believe the driver took umbrage and deliberately came close to teach me a lesson.
Either that, or he just hadnt seen me at all...in which case his lack of attention came close to literally squishing me.

 

[grhm]

My brothers were coming home from their saturday jobs on their bikes and got into a bit of a race. The leader was out of the saddle in top gear as he approched the top of our road - which he was about to make a right turn into.

The other brother shouted a warning because a car was coming up from behind kinda quick.

Cue lead brother looking over his shoulder and turning his handlebar 90 degrees

He managed to throw himself over the handlebar, broke both bones in his forearm and put a dirty get crack in his skull. One nurse at the hospital was told he was in due to a bike accident and asked him if it was a car that pulled out in front of his motorbike or if he was going to fast and hit a lamppost/tree. She seemed genuinely shocked when he explained in was a pedal bike and a flat piece of tarmac - no car, no lamppost.

 

[ChrisKH]

I was riding down the middle of a side road on a brilliantly sunny day in the summer holidays looking for my mates (Chopper, 1972). I remember making a mental note that no one was around and they must still be having lunch. Next thing I know I'm doing a dive not dissimilar to that of a sparrowhawk over the front of the bike and it happened too fast for me to put my arms out. Cue headfirst landing on the tarmac. Totally knocked out. Came to after what could have been seconds or minutes with a massive egg shaped contusion on my head, picked up the bike and checked it (no signs of damage) and then rode home. No one saw me and I never did work out what happened.

 

[rich p]

I had a hairy moment followed by a close shave and found I was bald

 

[yenrod]

One of the many close shaves Ive had was once on a 25ml’er and few CD’s had squeezed passed and some woman was wanting to do the same a narrow 2 laner (1 lane one way: the other oncoming) and I made it plane to the stupid bint (i'd had enough of the close passes) – what did she want a ****ing motorway


‘nother one was; rounding a fast rounadabout – except the bloke (coming onto the r.about) didn’t seem to notice me so it was either him or me…I don’t know how I got ‘out’ of that one but I blessed my lucky stars.


I also remember turning a high-speed corner about 30mph (which would go to over 40+) and what met me on the apex of the corner: a car overtaking another one – that was close, good job I never took that one wide !

 

[Kirstie]

Whilst touring last year in Sutherland I was riding to Lochinver on the coast where it's a singletrack road cut into the cliffs and the edge of the road is a wall, beyond which there's a drop into the sea. I was descending around a corner at around 20mph when about 15m ahead of me was a car reversing up the road to get into a passing place, to let another car pass. All I could do was slam on the anchors and hope I didn't end up on the back seat as I was skidding out of control towards the back of the car. Luckily I stopped in time, and remained upright. Arse was going like a rabbits nose, as they say.

 

[cannondale boy]

Mine would be just last week, cycling from crianlarich to oban (touring) and took a narrow road instead of an A road to avoid the traffic. As i was going past about a 3 or 4 cattle grids over the horizon i seen some cattle, highland cows to be precise out in the open. As i was approaching the cows at a fair speed one of which cut across my path, only missing its horn by a few feet.

The thing was i thought the cow would of just carried on straight, but decided at the last second to take a right...that would of been one hell of a collision, and a sore one at that!