How Stupid Are You?

[02GF74]

there is a very short but quite steep hill near where I live that is good practise to ride up. there is a bit of a drop on the left hand side that is overgrown with brambles.

on one attempt I ran out of momentum halfway and ofcourse toppled over to the left onto the brambles still clipped in. every little movement resulted in brakmbles piercing my skin had to grit my teeth o putting down a hand (onto the brambles) in oder to be able to unclip.

another time was round Dorking area and brakes blokes were worn. the brakes would not hold the bike going downhill to would cycle close to a sapling, grab it coming off the bike in order to stop.

 

[Eat MY Dust]

Years ago (probably about 20 now) I was on my first road bike going to meet friends for a swim in the local river (you could do that in those days) I was carrying my swimming gear in a carrier bag hanging from my handle bars. I started swinging it left to right as it made a nice whirring noise as it brushed th spokes of the front wheel. Anyhoo I got a bit carried away with the swinging and next thing I knew the whole carrier bag jammed in the front wheel. I went over the handle bars so quickly I didn't even have time to put my hands up. Landed straight on my face, blood everywhere and most of my face skin stuck to the road. I didn't make it swimming that day!!!

 

[Fnaar]

Here's another, happened more than 20 yr ago (think I put this one up a while back too)
One of those old front lights held onto fork with two plates/nuts/bolts. Worked itself loose and swung round into wheel as i was going along (not too fast, thankfully!)
Front wheel stopped dead, I 'followed through' (not in that way) and landed on my back with bike on top of me! I was winded for about 15 mins, and front wheel was knacked, otherwise OK!
Actually, if I remember correectly, front fork wasn't too clever either!

 

[Paulus]

My silliest is.. cycling across a grassy field on my galaxy following a well worn path, I came to a small bridge made from two railway sleepers acoss a ditch. Unfortunately I missed the sleepers with the front wheel and plunged into the ditch cartwheeling over still attatched to the pedals. I emerged unscathed but laughed for a long time afterwards.

 

[Tetedelacourse]

In my teens on my Mustang(!) I was watching my gears change and cycled straight into a parked hatchback. Great big endo, fat lip and burst nose and bent front forks. Sobbed and giggled my way home.

 

[simonali]

Teenager again, I lightened my bike by removing bits I deemed unnecessary, such as 1 chainring, front derailleur, rear brake etc. Approached a roundabout at stupid speed, see car coming round and apply one remaining brake only to see cable snap and pop out the top of the lever in what seemed like slow motion.

Result: 1 heavily dented Citroen GS, 1 bent bike and 1 broken collar bone!

 

[Maz]

Teenager again, I lightened my bike by removing bits I deemed unnecessary, such as 1 chainring, front derailleur, rear brake etc.

nice one
Who needs these 'frills and extras' anyway?!

 

[Mr Pig]

Superb :0) I was about to go out a run but I don't think I'll bother now, these bicycles are dangerous things!

Two years ago, whilst doing the Glasgow to Edinburgh sponsored run, I was going through the park on the outskirts of Edinburgh. There is a little humpback bridge which has two bollards at each end to stop cars driving over it so basically you can go through the bigger space in the middle between the bollards or the smaller spaces between them and the walls. I was right behind a guy who was sitting in the middle of the path so I moved over to go to the right of the right-hand bollard. For some reason, only he knows, at the last minute he swung over to the right to go through the space I was committed to and slowed down! I flew right over the top of him and I must have done some kind of somersault as I cracked the back of my helmet. He wasn't happy because his rear derailier mount was snapped, but I wasn't very happy so wasn't talking to him anyway.

But that's not the end of it. After finding my bike undamaged, myself relatively so and exchanging unpleasantries I was so flustered that I picked away right into the path of a poor teenage girl on a racer and we both hit the tarmac again! Kinda surreal, sitting on the ground having had two crashes in five minutes. I felt really bad, the girl was quite shaken up but thankfully seemed ok. By this time the guy I'd rear-ended was being a twat so I didn't give a stuff about him :0)

I've seen a lot of crashes in that park, I don't think it's a good idea to send five-thousand cyclists along a path used by kids and people walking their dogs!

 

[Mr Pig]

You guys are a bad influence. I was just out on my bike and I ran over a dog!

Coming down the cycle track between Blackridge and Caldercruix, just before the loch there are a few old houses backed onto the track. Behind one house there were two dogs on the track, a Jack Russel and a slightly bigger mongrel, and no owner to be seen. The bigger dog on the left of the track was watching me approach, the Jack Russel on the right was looking at the other dog. I slowed down and was watching the bigger dog, wondering if it was going to have a go at me, and the Jack Russel walked right in front of me and I ran right over the top of it!

It got wedged and dragged in front of my front wheel for second before I went over it. I didn't fall, came off the bike but stayed on my feet and just twisted my ankle a little as it caught in the pedal strap.

I honestly thought I'd killed it! But it walked away. It was all scuffed up on one side and walking funny and I would be very surprised if it wasn't injured big time. To be honest I don't care. If the owners are mindless enough to let their dogs wander about the cycle track then too bad.

I thought about going to the house to tell the owners, for about two seconds, then got on the bike and rode on. So round about now they'll be finding their little dog all bashed up with no clue as to what happened. Maybe they'll keep it off the track in future. If it lives that is!

 

[simonali]

You guys are a bad influence. I was just out on my bike and I ran over a dog!

You started it!

 

[Mr Pig]

What are the chances though. All this talk about daft accidents and I go straight out and run over a dog!

 

[Night Train]

You guys are a bad influence. I was just out on my bike and I ran over a dog!

I thought about going to the house to tell the owners, for about two seconds, then got on the bike and rode on. So round about now they'll be finding their little dog all bashed up with no clue as to what happened. Maybe they'll keep it off the track in future. If it lives that is!

That's not nice or good.
It isn't the dogs fault it has stupid owners.

I wouldn't let my dog out like that but if, for example, my dog escaped and was injured by accident I'd want to know so that I can get it the right treatment and sort out making it more secure. I wouldn't want my injured dog dying for not being able to get home quickly enough or for me not knowing about what happened.

 

[Keith Oates]

My stupidist fall was the last one, and I've had quite a few last ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lardyboy]

My stupidist fall was the last one, and I've had quite a few last ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's always the last one Keith, always the last!

 

[Mr Pig]

I agree, I should have told the owners what happened. The house is dilapidated, used to have a scrap-yard in the garden and is in the middle of nowhere. There is no fence, basically the yard just pours onto the cycle track. I was on my own and to be honest I didn't fancy dealing with the reaction I might have got had I knocked on the door and said 'I've just run over your dog'. Had they been unreasonable or aggressive I would've been in trouble. But as I said, I agree and I should have told them. That would've been the right thing to do.

Bottom line, I did what I could to avoid the dogs and it wasn't my fault I hit one. I could've gone over the bars and split my skull or broke my wrists, or it could've been a kid who came along, so no, I don't feel very sorry for the dog.

I love animals. I've had three dogs, we have a huge rabbit run out the back and I help out at an animal sanctuary, but I don't have any time for people who don't bother looking after them. Loose animals are a hazard. Goodness knows how many accidents they have caused and in my book if a loose animal gets hurt or killed then tough. In fact I'd fine the owners for any damage and ban the owners from keeping animals again.

Another run I do passes lots of farms. They all have their dogs on chains/ropes or behind fences/gates, except one. This one farm has three dogs that bark when/if they see you coming and one of the dogs, a Jack Russel, runs down the drive and tries to bite your feet! Every time you do the run you have try and get past the farm before this blasted dog gets up to the road after you. You shouldn't have to put up with that. The only saving grace is that it's getting fatter so can't run up the drive as fast! ;0)