that is all.

If you are very lucky, you won’t have written off the car.

You’re not the first, and certainly won’t be the last! Commiserations!

I did it a few months back. Was so glad there wasn’t a group of 20 bikers standing in the car park. Was lucky not to damage the car or bike. Was your bike/car ok or did you rip the restriction barrier down?

Ouch, will the bike live to ride another day?!

he he. Lots of us have done that.

I drove 200 miles up to Scotland, pulled into a carpark in Oban desperate for a piss and forgot about the bikes. Scared the crap out of us.

Bikes were fine, car got a dint in the boot.

the bike – which has a carbon frame – appears to have come off with just a few scratches. amazing really. I took it for a ride after expecting it to snap from some hidden damage and it was fine.

it was saved by the thule bike carrier snapping in two i think.

The bike put a small dent in the roof just above on of the rear doors after the bike fell on to it.

Still – main thing is the bike is okay 🙂

post it note stuck to your sun visor with “Bikes on roof” from now on!

I did that once in a ferry. Mrs Ambrose was very understanding. It killed the boy’s bike and the roof bars were snapped too. Not a good day. A days riding in Morzine written off whilst I went searching for replacements. Doh!

done that twice 😯 yes, you’d think i’d have learned from the first time!
incident number 1 – getting on the ferry to ireland, waved on by the half asleep staff member, BANG! bars, stem, fork steerer and both brakes (levers) fubarred! had to borrow a bike for the ring of kerry charity bike ride.
incident number 2 – following year, negotiated the ferry no problem, managed the r.o.k. bike ride, pulled into a carpark before leaving kerry, BANG! overhead barrier! bike appeared at the rear near side window along with half of the roof rack. sat for a minute cursing, got out and cursed some more. caught a glimpse of the wife in the passenger seat p*ssing her self laughing. opened her door to remonstrate when she pointed at the (then 4yr old) daughter in the back seat imitating daddy “f*ck, f*ck, f*ck”
i had to laugh 😆
forks ‘only’ that time!

bike is now carried mostly inside the vehicle 😳

MrsPJM did it a few years back, with my Enduro on the roof.

The fact that the first thing I said was “Are you okay?” and not “Is my bike okay?” seemed to be a deal clincher at the time. There wasn’t a single scratch on the Enduro, but she ripped the height board off the carpark entrance.

I once knocked the barrier of on the Skye Bridge. Was a little quick on the get away.

No damage except the barrier and my pride.

The thought of this happening to me scares the shit out of me. I’m pretty absent minded you see. The obvious answer is to put the bikes on a rear carrier, but sometimes that’s not practical.

So is there a device (other than post-it note!) that can give an audible warning when you get to a hieght restriction barrier? Or shall I quickly go off and patent something?

Someone did this at the end of the C2C race the other weekend, to an audience and a bit of applause, think the Audi was undamaged…..

The audible warning is the loud bang/crunch.

GB

Bloke I met camping had his 3rd new roofbox in 4 days. They’d got a new one fitted three days before they went away. Wife took car to work and smashed roof box going into carpark.

Back to Halfords for a new one.

She then did the same thing the following morning.

Not quite the same but got a call off the good lady saying she was stuck on the top of the local multi storey car park, she had only driven up the entrance ramp in a shogun with a roof box on and wondered what the horrible noise was as she shot up the ramp!!! Felt like an idiot up there taking it off and sticking it in the back of my pick up!!!!

Did it going into Booths’ car park in Kendal. Thankfully it was a swinging one and it was only the hack bike.
I still prefer them upon the roof out of the way.

Don’t forget overhanging trees / hedges in the back-country lanes too.

[Even] tho’ my little truck is only about 2.4mtrs high I often have to drive out into the road a bit to avoid things sticking out the hedge (above car height), which means I get flashed / beeped at by car drivers coming towards me who think I’m too far out, who do often go all kinda coy looking when I point upwards … (or they just stare uncomprehendingly of course 🙄 ).

The chair of the MTB club at my university did that and completely trashed something like ten grand’s worth of bikes on top of the club van. And that was nearly fifteen years ago, so you can imagine the level of kit he destroyed in today’s terms. He was very lucky both because they were on the way home and not at the start of the weekend, and because the club insurance paid out in full. 😯

Amateur, whilst you have joined a group of numptys you still have some way to develop until you can reach the premiership that is:

” I drove into the courtyard entrance (first floor flat over entrance) to my own house’s parking area, with the bikes on the roof”

Not me but my riding buddies.

My Wife (not me of course) drove into a toll overhang barrier on a French m’way. Headtube of my bike took the force and the bike racking was ripped out of th car roof mounting points. A few scratches and a torn saddle. Mojo even fixed the travel adjustment on my forks for free even though i owned up as to how it happened 8)

I watched my mate do exactly this at the parking north of the Kessock Bridge.

He went past about a gazzillion free spaces before deciding on the ones at the end. I saw him drive to wards the barrier but couldn’t do anything to warn him. Ripped the rack right off along the roof…

Bikes were okay but £1200 to get the car resprayed/retouched.

would putting one of those rear parking lens upside down on the top of the front window help as a reminder that something is up there help?

like this one

This is precisely why I have a towbar mounted carrier – I just know that I’d forget the bikes are on the roof and trash them. Would feel really guilty about my mates’ bikes if it happened to me.

You can’t win… I know as many people that have wrecked bikes on roof-racks as have done it with tow-bar or boot mounted racks… In the car is the only safe way, but you have to be pretty anally-retentive about it lest your interior gets trashed up pretty quick 🙁
I have a pickup now, so i feel a lot more confident, though I guess having a van trumps all…

How in earth do you wreck bikes on a towbar rack – unless you reverse without looking backwards?

Walking the dogs in Llandudno on the beach saw a guy drive into a cross barrier. Not bikes but about £50k worth of yautch. Ripped the mast off, ooh how I laughed as he got out to inspect the damage followed by his far to attractive (for him) partner giving him hell.

Thats why I have a van 😀

Did it 3 times – twice in the same car park.

Having reasoned that anyone stupid enough to do it 3 times was more than capable of doing it 4, I now have a tow bar mount – to which I have occasionally failed to fasten bikes! One particular time on the A3 I looked in my mirror expecting to see 2 bikes to find only 1. Luckily it was hanging by the wheel straps at 90 degrees.

Hora did it a few years ago on Leith, wasnt there but heard about a few times

Went round to a mates several years ago and remembered him telling me to park in the car port so that it didn’t block the entrance to next door’s drive. Heard a bump and didn’t think any thing of it so reversed out a bit to straighten up and drove in AGAIN!!! Heard another bump, followed by a very nice bike with rather distorted forks slowly drooping down past my window. It was my bloody birthday as well!

You’re all dafties! Bikes go in, or on the back of cars.. Not on the roof!

These stories scare me. The £700 quote for fitting a tow bar is currently scaring me more though!

Mate feel for you. Mine was a moss covered one in trees. Car stopped on the gravel entrance so I floored it and then saw the bike disapear off the back through the rear view. Pringled wheel and front brake hose.

It was my brand new Blur 4x’s first ride. Ffs.

If I ever saw it happening I’d cringe.

These stories scare me. The £700 quote for fitting a tow bar is currently scaring me more though!

Blimey – for £700, I’d want somebody to fit a car to my towbar!

Mine cost about £200 supplied and fitted, by the very nice people at Tanfield Towing

Replacement bike carrier – £63
Quote to repair dent in roof of car – £260
Skiving of friday arvo for a bike ride despite making a **** of myself – priceless

I did the same in Bournemouth. Left my old commuter bike locked in the square in town, drove into the ncp the following morning, put the bike on the roof and drove out. A nasty noise later and a pile of bike/carrier/roof bars on the floor behind the car I got out of the car and looked at the mess. An old guy walking his dog looked at me and said “how did you get in there?”

Something I never want to happen again!

I feel for you as I’ve done it also.
Wrote off two wheels, and put a dent in the down tube, plus dented roof, All in a busy car park.
Not one of my finest moments. Can laugh about it now, but its taken some time!
Watched my mate a few weeks later, in a different car park, just make it under a the barrier, otherwise he would have done the same thing.
The only thing you can do is put it down to experience, and make sure you don’t do it again.

Yes, been there done that. £5k damage to my car’s roof 😡