I’ll start, not a particularly interesting or boastworthy one, but massive faceplant on some wet roots on the Bourgeoisie descent just of the Joux Plane, thinking I’d punctured my lung or accrued internal bleeding and gashing half my face, riding on.

fell off bike and broke my hip and dislocated a shoulder.

phone battery turned out to be dead.

seemed like a long wait for someone to come along.

I never ride alone. I have friends. 😉

But riding in a crew is crap.

Knocked myself out, shattered my collarbone and busted a few ribs.

Had to push my shoulder back into place to be able to get the rucksack off to phone the missus.

Then hike back to the nearest road with the bike over the good shoulder.

About 6 months before, failed to unclip and skewered my calf on a sharp stick – 22 stitches, had to ride out of the woods to get picked up by the missus, now have a nice scar.

12 months before that, broke both wrists (scaphoids) and rode home.

I think I should get some mates…or my own on call ambulance…

Looks like some of you (DT78 at least!) could do with this:
SPOT tracker

Sparked myself out and busted shoulder and collar bone. Didn’t know who or where I was. Left shoulder ended up on the front of my body about 6″ nearer to the right one than it should have been.

Only about 100 yards from help but it was a long 100 yards.

Went OTB on the road on a remote road (the granites near Heriot) and had to run to a nearby house for help, blood down face etc. Ambulances were striking at the time and I had to get various lifts to the Hospital for skin grafts that in the end didn’t take!

Had a front rim split while riding, hurt my knee a bit and must have walked home.

Had to put grass in a tyre to get home as well, that is NOT fun.

A guy I know rear-ended a parked car during a time trial…so effectively riding alone. I hear it was messy.

Bust a leg about a mile away from anywhere on a path that never got used and without my phone. had to ride back to civilisation just using 1 leg. The good leg ended up hurting as much as the bust one with the effort.

I went over the bars on a solo Quantocks ride several years back.

Landed heavily on my shoulder. Got up really short of breath and sore.

Checked myself over and knew my shoulder was damaged. But was still short of breath after 10 mins or so. Checked for obvious rib damage, no bruising or heat from that area..

Worse thing was, it was a mates bike, Oh and no phone signal.

So gathered bike and found my Oakelys and decided to head up to were i knew i could get a signal.

It was late one afternoon on a very rarely used trail.

I walked up for about a mile using the bike as support, then called 999.

Where i was, would of been a pain for anything but a 4×4.

So i told them where exactly i was on an OS map. I didn’t have a GR so just had to explain landmarks and combe names to them.

I then told them where i would meet the Ambulance. And my route to that point.

It was very difficult and the pain was growing, but i reached the spot i said i’d be and sat under a tree and waited.

It began to drizzle as the ambulance drove past so i phoned 999 again to tell them.

Whilst they turned around a car pulled up and the gent asked if i was ok.
He was a vicar to read me my last rights…Well he didn’t but he had seen the ambulance turn around and waited with me till they found me..

In hospital they confirmed a collapsed lung and grade 3 ACJ damage.

The bike was hidden in the ferns for my mate to collect.

I had a bad ass once miles away from home.

on a ctc ride to ripon 15 or so years ago
we went into a pub for lunch, when we came out it was snowing very heavily.
on the way back i left the group at knaresbro and started the ride back to leeds alone.
on a longish downhill bit going into collingham, i ended up riding in the gutter in deepish snow.
this caused me to start skidding about, i put my right hand out to grab a lamppost, and smashed my thumb into the post causing it to break and dislocate.

the following one handed ride back to leeds in snow was pretty painfull.

Dislocated my shoulder at CyB. Halfway round the MBR, had to get it back in myself and ride the rest of the trail back to the car.

I have never ridden with other people and never ever will. Solitude is bliss.

are there any iphone (or similar) apps that can be used for keeping track of people that could be useful for things like this?
I guess they are dependant on having a phone signal to really work well.

I have never ridden with other people and never ever will. Solitude is bliss.

even if it was one of those brazilian synchronised swimmers that you could ride with???

I think there is, the gadget alpine girl linked would work to.

After the collar bone incident I bought a garmin 800 and recorded my typical routes around my local runs. I also walked the missus round most of it and designated 3 pickup points should the worst happen.

Typically the next accident was hitting ice on the daily commute – grrrr!

During my Autumn night rides, i’d quite often, after a couple hours of solo riding about in the dark, visit a pub.

On one such time, i stayed for several Otter heads 5.8% and a game of cards with the locals, of who i was gradually getting know to.

Closing time came and i had an hr or so’s ride back to the car in which i intended to sleep in.

After lots of wobbling, walking and puffing. I descended down to where the car was parked. As a got to the car, which was located out of view from the road below. I noticed the headlights of another car opposite mine on the side of the hill.

As i packed my bike and kit into the back of my car, a looked over at the other car and my helmet light illuminated the driver.

He appeared to be alone and resembled closely, that as one of the people i’d been playing cards with in the pub.

I started the engine to warm the inside of the car, reclined the seat and slipped into my sleeping bag to sleep.

As i lay there i could here talking, he was trying to say something to me.
I opened the window and suggested they spoke up as i could hear them. There was no reply.
So i closed the window and laid back again.
This happened and couple more times before the car was driven off.

I began to settle, then suddenly after perhaps 10 minutes, lights lit up the sky around me and the car returned.
It passed by closely a couple of times, each time a wolf whistle was made in my direction

Now i was getting a touch annoyed, behind me in the foot well was a crowbar, in the boot a pick axe handle(i was a builder at the time).

The car parked up once more opposite me, as thoughts of the best approach to the situation flew in and out of my mind.

Should i respond with anger and violence or try to just ignore him?

My heart began to race, i felt the cool hardness of steel in my grip as i found the crow bar. Should i just try to panic him off, or take out his lights with the bar, then make a dash for it in the car.

I was feeling more than tipsy, but on these quiet roads at this time of night, i would not be a risk to others.

And i’d rather flee illegally than suffer whatever this person had in store for me.

I’m not a fighter, have never chosen to fight. I’ve always talked myself out of it or defended myself.

But the chap i believed was in the car was a farmers son. 21 and about 18st, a powerful lad i had no doubt of that.

The thought of him having his wicked way with me was more than i wanted out of a night ride on the Quantocks. I had two options to confront, or to flee.

I stroke of luck then happened as once again he drove off.

In a split second of thought, i knew i had to get away from there.

Quickly i got out of the sleeping bag, got the seat up into position and drove to the road..

Left or right i thought…I chose right and as carefully as i dared to i drove down into the village and onto the main road.

I was checking the mirror all the time, whilst also being wary of the rozzers should they be about.

Luckily i was very rural and managed to drive without seeing another vehicle.

By now i was very sleepy, it was about 3am and i knew i needed to stop and sleep.

A large layby on my left welcomed me in. I pulled in, reclined my seat and began to doze again.
I was aware then, of a car coming along the road to my right. Not for one moment, did i think it could be that same car.

I heard the car slow up, it turned into the layby and pulled up 50metres behind me. With it’s lights still on i recognised the number plate. It was him!

I was to tired to care anymore. If anything was to happen i’d just try and deal with it the best i could.

I fell asleep.

I woke away a few hours, it was morning, i checked the mirror and the car was still there. A P reg dark blue fiesta, lights still on.

I drifted for a moment back to sleep. When i woke it was gone..

This was not a dream, i knew that much.

I drove to get a breakie at a local cafe, grabbed some provisions and rode for most of the next day.
In the evening i returned to the pub to tell my tale.

Nobody there knew the owner of the dark blue car that stalked me that night….

Not the usual problem you’d expect to encounter on a solo night ride.
But a problem it was.
To either drink drive, get violent or be ass raped..

I once ran out of Haribo…..serious shizzle.

Recently I hit a big flint in the North Downs on a steep bit…had a bit of a wobble and scared myself a bit.

When I was a boy my Dad bought me my first mountain bike…wasn’t used to gears and on the way to school I was looking down to see what gear I was in. Rode into a concrete lamp post and headbutted the corner. Split my head open…and felt like a tool as there were girls walking past.

When I was younger I was on my Kona lavadome (white with black paint splats, c.1990) and wheelied past a bus stop full of girls from my school, was going well until I was sideswiped by a bus pulling out, put me on my back side!

That will learn me. Girls hurt!

mangoridebike – Member

are there any iphone (or similar) apps that can be used for keeping track of people that could be useful for things like this?
I guess they are dependant on having a phone signal to really work well.

ever ever rely on a piece of technology to keep you safe. The more complex it is the more there is to go wrong.

Technological fixes may help but are not to be relied upon.

Not me, but a friend of mine, whilst riding the Quantocks sliced his achillies tendon on his chainring whilst twisting it out of his spd. I rode back to the his van to return with it to pick him up but in the meantime he had frewheeled down Holford Combe, and i found him sat outside the pub with a pint! 😯

I went over the handlebars on the Quantocks back in may, it was on some roots on the trail that runs alongside the road at Triscombe. I hit my head putting a big dent in my helmet and landed heavily on my arm. I thought it was better just to carry on so I ended up doing the usual 12 miles (chimney, dead woman’s ditch, holford, ladys edge etc) with the pain in my arm gradually getting worse. Went to A&E the next evening where it turned out I’d fractured my elbow which meant no riding for a few weeks 😥

Today I rode innerleithen black on my rigid XC bike and there was nobody there to see it 😥 Never riding solo again

Went through the back window of a car. After the discussion I shouldered my bike and walked two miles before my wife picked me up.

Walked 13 miles pushing my bike after lots of punctures and gear failures.

Rode 11 miles home fixed with one crank after snapping one.

Pushed and rolled 12 miles home after snapping the drive side BB spindle…

etc, etc. Ho hum.

On my way back home I missed a bridge and used my head and shoulder to stop. Broken colorbone followed by a brief walk to the road and a several phone calls later my bike had been picked up by a mate, the paramedic had given me something that had me feeling bloody brilliant for the rest of the day and a few days later I was under the knife to be put back together again. And a big up to the cheeky git who stopped to ask me for directions to the hospital while I was waiting for the paramedic to turn up.

I read this thread earlier today and thought that the worst that ever happened to me while riding solo was that there wasn’t another person to say ‘that is a bit ambitious for the amount of time you have. You might be late for dinner’.
So this afternoon I’m a mile from the car park, 200 metres away from a path (on which I have seen no one for months) and have a big problem just breathing. Lots of pain. I’ve had some time to refelct on it since and kind of know what’s going on but it wasn’t good at the time. My usual ride from home would be in the Pentlands outside Edinburgh but here in a wood in north Norfolk I probably had less chance of being found if things had been worse. Still, I rode slowly back without causing any painful deep breathing and managed to be in time for tea.

then hospital?

I had a run in with some chavs in Durham yesterday, I was by myself and there was 3 of them.
Does that count?

I couldn’t get in the pub due to a private party, it was crowded. So I had to ride 5 miles to the next one. Luckily I had a phone signal.

I went out needing a poo once ……

I was once chased by a fox.
It licked it’s lips at me.

mangoridebike – Member

are there any iphone (or similar) apps that can be used for keeping track of people that could be useful for things like this?

Viewranger has buddybeacon

http://www.viewranger.com/vrproductinfo.php

Cyclemeter will broadcast to facebook and twitter.

I had a run in with some chavs in Durham yesterday, I was by myself and there was 3 of them.
Does that count?

Yup. Definitely life-threatening 😉 Gilesgate area by any chance?

Was actually a commute last winter, at the time the bus station in town had just been relocated and was empty. Traffic was crawling along approaching a roundabout, I thought I was seeing things up ahead when an item of fruit appeared to fly through the air just missing car roof tops. I heard jeering as I approached the old bus station entrance and turned to look, to my horror my gaze was met with a large orange heading square on right for my face, I instinctively ducked and managed to evade the offending item of fruit. My eyes quickly scanned the darkness in the old building and spotted 5 or 6 chavs and, by now, several oranges hurtling my way. These chavs set off running towards my direction, I think to run away from the builders in the van they’d just hit but with me being on something like 3k worth of Santa Cruz I didn’t want to hang about any longer, I have never ridden through town as fast in my life.

Fell off into a massive area of nettles whilst riding in a strappy top and baggie shorts. Stung from head to foot and not a dock leaf in site.

Trapped on a bridleway that runs through a farm yard near cannock Chase. Two dogs kept trying to attack, was in a corner with bike in front. They even had a go at the tyre. Tosspot farmer thought it funny. Plod couldn’t care less. Swear if it were a child or someone without a bike they would have done some serious damage. These were no sheep dogs, doberman & big cross breed. Still wary of big dogs these days.

bigant – Member
I went out needing a poo once ……

I always need a poo as soon as I’ve put my riding kit on.

bigant – Member
I went out needing a poo once ……

I think that it’s a myth that dock leaves help with nettle stings as I’ve never, ever managed to find a dock when I’ve been stung.

I have the feeling that they may not be native to this country…..

I’ve got two, both happened during a season solid mountain biking in the alps. I think if there were a next time I’d take a GPS satellite emergency beacon as I nearly came a cropper!

First one – Getting lost in Les Arcs.

I knew the trails pretty well and decided to try and find some new trails. Descending on some ‘new’ singletrack below a resort was a cracking find, never been shown this by a guide. Then it stopped, a good 30mins of descending down. I decided (stupidly) to try and ride down through the forest. It got alot steeper and unrideable mostly. I had to resort to throwing my bike down the hill and then slide after it. Needless to say at that point I realised I should have climbed rather than descended. It took about 3 hours to find another trail. To get out of it I had to take a gamble and cross a steep V shaped river gorge, by climbing over a fallen tree suspended at height over the rocky river. I was very glad I’d taken my lighter hardtail over my DH bike that day! The gamble was that there would be a fireroad the other side of the river, and after clibming up the steep edge by the river, (using the bike as a climbing frame), I found an access road.

The second was riding in Morzine at the very end of the season with few riders around. I crashed and fractured my back. At the time I thought I’d ‘only’ broken my hips. I ended up riding down to Les Gets and completely passed out from pain in the middle of a road!

Don’t ride alone kids!