Too many times to mention.
[i]Had to get my girlfriend to wipe my arse.[/i]
That's quite humiliating!
Two weeks' ago on Exmoor after fitting, but not adjusting, new SPD pedals... I stalled on a climb, and unable to disengage tipped, I tumbled into a 6ft ditch full of mud - upside down with bike attached!
Oh did they laugh.
Funniest thread for a while. My highlights;
It pretty much cured me of showing off in front of girls ever again.
fullbody dab
😆
was riding along the inside lane next to a huge long queue of traffic. pulled an epic coaster wheelie, probably 10 seconds odd and was holding it perfectly. the kerb went into a little layby just as the front wheel started dropping and i couldn't bring it back up. front wheel went down just in time to hit the kerb, i went over the bars and landed on the grass, badly spraining my ankle, and had to skulk off round the corner to lament my pain. 😆
Kicking my friend repeatedly after getting cramp at a race. She was sat at my feet, and suddenly my leg started spasming uncontrollably.
Also riding into work a couple of years back on a very wet day, along the Bristol & Bath Path. Near the Bristol end it goes through a park and there was a huge puddle covering the entire width of the path. I was travelling at a fair clip and tried to go round it, hit a kerb that was submerged in the middle of the puddle and had a massive OTB into a soggy patch of grass. Arrived at work looking like a particularly filthy hippo and had to go home and get changed soon after.
Also, trying to jump a double for the first time ever, at a local spot built on an old coal waste tip. Did a textbook faceplant into a pile of black slag in front of a crowd of jeering kids and had to ride home looking like Papa Lazarou.
Daily commute 6 years back, track standing at traffic lights with feet strapped in…
Hear car screeching to a halt behind me turn to look twisting bars as I spin round, start to topple furiously trying to free a foot from the dam straps to balance myself… managed to get my left foot down between the big ring and the tarmac as I collapsed in a heap with the bike. Jump straight back on the bike embarrassed as hell. Rode home noticed a cut on my ankle so stopped to pick up detol etc to clean it up. Put my leg in the shower washed away the blood then noticed the nice big tear in my skin area bout the size of a pound coin right down to the bone.
Trip to medical drop in centre who sent me on to A&E saying they’d phone ahead, tell A&E receptionist “Yeah yeah take a seat”, hour later adrenalins all gone and it starts to hurt so I hobbled up to a group of nurses to ask for a pain killer while I waited, one look and the blood pooling in my shoe meant I got assessed next. Asked for an x-ray as my foot started to swell up, was told it was clean no break. 7 very tight stitches later I was on my way home at 4 in the morning (friday night Queens Med in Nottingham is a nightmare staff do a great job just far too many drink related incidents) with the grudging loan of some crutches.
After a week of pain killers, beer and pizza with my foot up, I started walking again and my leg turned purple. Back to hospital another x-ray this time they spotted the fracture. 3 months in a caste no cycling or swimming and 1 sweaty festering leg with muscle wasting away. Bad times.
Another "my first SPD" moment:
Picked up my bike after having them fitted, went for a short ride, pulled up outside the bikeshop and keeled over, straight into the window. How happy I was that the busy shop was afforded a 1st class view of me making a first class tit of myself.
Doing a bit of campsite tinkering with my rear indexing at SITS this year and I took the bike for a test run around the tree by our tent area and burried the front wheel into an unseen trough in the deep grass. Queue me forwards rolling with bike still clipped in. Nobody let on that they'd seen it but I know everyone did!
I was nearing the end of a ride in the lakes when me and my mate approached a gate. As we approached we noticed a group of 5 fit looking girls. I was all lycra clad so obviously these girls had no option but to stare in awe. I thought i would help the situation by lifting my bike above my head to pass through the gate which is usually the most manly way of doing such things.
As i approached the opening i was holding the rear triangle of my bike and one of the fork legs. Somehow the front wheel caught the gate and it swung the handlebar straight into my eye. becuase i was not expecting it and the fact they were ODI lockons (Metal) it caught me full in the eyeball and i immediately dropped to the ground rolling about screaming. My pall thought i had been shot. It ended in me finishing the ride only able to see through one eye and a trip to casualty where they said i had scratched my cornia or whatever it is.
Those girls didnt even pause mid stride to see how i was 🙁
I think the worst for me was bumping into my old boss and MD after having smoked some mid ride gear. God that was awful!
Same trail fell off into some brambles and nettles (Why are they ALWAYS together?) and couldn't actually get out as my bike was still attached. Cue s****ing friends pulling me out.
I've done:
Mistimed kerb mount followed by "full body dab" accompanied by damaged ribs.
Multiple clipless incidents. The best while "mentoring" a mate on how to avoid clipless incidents.
After bleeding my brakes and feeling really pleased with myself, I demonstrated the new found power in my front brake by literally shooting over the bars.
Every time I go out riding... doesn't have to be dramatic, either. Just small moments of idiocy. Last night I finished a beautiful stretch of trail with a loud, satisfied Borat-esque [i]"iss naayice!"[/i]. I thought I was alone, but alas not, and the rambler looked at me with a mixture of pity and contempt.
My favourite ever wasn't particularly painful... Desperately hungover on my way to a morning ride in Leigh Woods, I stopped at a corner shop and re-filled my water bottle with the Scottish recovery special Irn-Bru. Chucked in a few crappy bunnyhops and kerb jumps, and we're off, pausing only to admire a trio of Scandinavian beauties walking down the road. At the [i]very moment[/i] we passed them, my nicely shaken-up water bottle decided to explode - the top flew a good ten feet, whilst Irn-Bru jizzed furiously like a soft-drink money shot. Cue much laughter and derogatory smirks. I felt dirty and used.
up Aviemore camping the other week and i decided i would cycle up to the toilet block before bed, got on my bike and got about 10 feet before i cycled into the side of my own parked car!!!! threw over the bars and across the bonnet, ended up in a lump in front of the car
Trackstanding in a line of traffic at a junction waiting to pull out, felt I may topple over, couldn't release foot at time.......
splat!!! In front of a looker (for Malvern) in a BMW somethingorother 😳
Last night I finished a beautiful stretch of trail with a loud, satisfied Borat-esque "iss naayice!". I thought I was alone, but alas not,
I often have moments like that but tend to opt for Billy from the Vodafone adverts "Jah Jah" at the bottom of most downhills...I think a few "iss naayice!"'s may well be included now though 😀
Last year, mates stag do. Day 2 and we go for a ride in the Elan valley. I'm all over it - recently into riding with a shining new full susser and all the riding gear. Most of the others are in trainers and on hire bikes. Cue stream crossing. The others potter through. Me - 'I'll show them how a *real* rider does this'...so I scream into the stream and straight over the handlebars landing on my front in a footballers post goal victory slide over the gravelly stream bed. Just as a photo of 'the expert' was being taken. What a pillock I felt. Of course 'It doesn't hurt - just a few scraches' while inside I'm screaming!
Also the obligatory new to SPD fails several times at Swinley. But that stag was a real entertainment for my mates.
Coming down potatoe alley, down the final drop off, having been told by a guy on a pristine Yeti 575 ("I haven't had chance to ride it for the past two years because of the bad weather") going in the other direction that people were filming, but that everyone going down was getting off and walking.
I nailed it down there, straight over the drop off, in front of the video camera, trying to look cool on my pimpy bike, when the front tyre slips a little on a loose rock, and I shreik like a girl, before regaining my composure. You don't see Danny Madskillz doing that. 😳
A stationery crash on a railway station platform. Wanted to check the sag on my rear shock, got on the bike, leaned up against the wall, it was then my spd clipped in and as I went to pull it out I keeled over onto the platform.
There were a lot of people amused people on the platform opposite. 😳
Also, I only seem to get permanent scars from the most silliest of crashes I have, in this case nice chainring tooth marks on my calf.
Exmoor Explorer just gone...
Doing the last downhill section into Porlock.. I blitzed it past a fair few people, think I may have even scared a couple as I went past. I was flying down, went over a little hump near the bottom, and gave it some to get some air.. Somehow landed head first in a 3ft ditch next to the trail. Luckily it didn't hurt, just my pride, as the couple rode past when I was crawling out of the ditch.... Oh and they laughed again at the tea stop, must have made an impression. 😆
Tortoise, Hare springs to mind.
(Mr MC posting)
new years day road ride with a bunch of mates, wearing brand new $$$ Raceface jacket. Descending towards 90 degree left hander at hill bottom I says "watch out, it might be icy down here".
So, no prizes for guessing who was the only person to bin it on the corner? On the plus side my $$$ Ti bar ends made a pretty shower of sparks, as my new jacket's sleeve shredded....
Doing my paper round. Saw some mates so i thought i'd ride at them very fast and endo right in front of them. Straight over the bars in slow motion. It was ok, i broke the fall with the fingers i'd broken the week before playing cricket.
I was right at the bottom of “the beginning of the end” at CyB where the trail crosses the road to the car park. Happily riding down the trail, see the game in front, apply a little front brake, wheel goes into rut, rear wheel starts to rise. However, I think I can hold it so try and not go over the bars and end up on the front wheel hopping on one leg whilst the other foot remains clipped in before slumping to a heap on the ground. I then look up and see the car full of people watching, pointing and laughing. I did what anyone would do, got back on and pretended it didn’t happen!
Damn silly and worst ever crash, complete with audience. Out in spain with a holiday firm, a new guy was doing the guiding that day and we got a bit lost, couldn't find the last trail of the day which the guide hadn't been on, I'd been the year before and had ridden the trail we were trying to find so when I saw a path that looked a likely candidate I suggested I go take a look, "ok we'll wait here" (and watch) I fire down the trail pretty quick, it's a ledge path, wall on one side, drop on other as I'm screaming down the trail scanning the ground ahead I fail to spot the brambles on the wall that jut right out, blocking the trail completely at head height, I see them last minute and slam on the brakes but bin it to the side, 4ft-ish drop to a ledge where I spanner my wrist then drop another 4ft to the field and do my ribs in. Obviously it wasn't the right trail, sprained wrist and cracked ribs mean't no more riding, fortunatley it was day 5 of 6, still gutted tho.
And what is it with SPDs? Everyone warns "you'll crash first time you use them" but still everybody still manages to crash
Am enjoying this - makes me feel better about the stuff I have done! My mates describe me as "careless with my body"
A few moments below, but way too many to mention so stick to the local ones...
Went out on V8s for first time, tried to hop onto a curb and bike didn't come with me. Gouge was down to the bone and had to pick the hair and skin off the pins. Stopped bleeding after about 4 days. GF not happy about the sheets! Was about 150m from home
After a couple of beers didn't judge the point of no return doing an endo on Clapham High Street on a Saturday afternoon stopping at a pedestrian crossing. Road rash to shoulder hands hips and knee, but had to pretend it didnt hurt. Was about 20m from my front door
After fitting SPDs for first time thought I should climb on and check the tension. My flatmate wondered what I was doing as I fell in slow motion screaming. Cracked a rib so decided to loosen off the springs a bit. I was in the living room, on the 4th floor and the ribs connected with the coffee table.
this is a feel good thread...makes us all realise we aren't the only ones doing stupid things 🙂
One of my reent ones.
Riding gently along a flat gravel path, plenty of walkers around, feel and hear the buzz of a wasp or bee caught up in helmet strap/hair/behind ear. I take my left hand off the bars and move to waft it out but before I can the little sod stings me on the ear, I flinch grabbing a whole handful of front brake, lock the wheel and perform a forward dismount to land on the floor. gravel rash hurt far more than the wasp sting did!
I thought I was alone, but alas not,
The GF did something similar the other day. Overtaking a skinny roadie with frizzy hair on the cycle path, she nearly took out a bemused chap coming the other way. When I caught up with her and asked her what had caused her obvious distraction, she replied in her best Homer Simpson stage whisper "I WAS TRYING TO WORK OUT WHETHER THAT WAS A MAN OR A WOMAN"... blissfully unaware that in the meantime said androgynous chap had caught us up again and was about two feet behind us.
I too have had a comedy fork rebound OTB on tarmac. Deeply uncool!
Also I stopped for a snack on my first ever xc race.
I have yet to have a tantrum in the transition at an enduro race however.
Full sideways body roll into a ditch, with the bike still attached on my first serious clipless ride!
Also the first time I ever raced a fixie away from the lights. He gave me the look, so I let him eat my dust, but had forgotten about him by the next set of traffic lights. Cue me trying to filter through the stationary traffic on a red as he zips past on the right just in time for the lights to go green.
once in swaledale after riding through a soft patch of gravel/mud ended in broken ribs,bruses,a/e,concution etc.
and in grizedale forest on bike radar demo day showing off on a lappire froggy 30walkers stepped aside for me only to go over the bars on a log 😉
i used to work at benetton f1 in witney and used to cycle in everyday and pulled a nice stopppie up to the building to park my bike,,
one day came in mm new receptionist,, time to pull big stoppie well it was to big,, but was getting very close to the wall,,, well options here hit wall ,, more brake ,, did both,, she got out of her car and walked to the office, s****ing
About 10yrs ago i decided on a quick October day's spin out as it was a bright day, upon looking for my riding kit i realised the only clean shorts were a pair of old lycra's with a very small hole (think fagburn size) in the front near the crotch....
Whilst attempting to ride up Pig Hill (the very steep and narrow BW out of Bottomley on the MTL) i see 3 horsewomen coming the other way.
Being the nice polite chap i am i hopped onto the drystone wall and dragged the bike up after me.
As the first lady passed i gave her a cheery "hello" and wondered why she looked so upset.
The 2nd & 3rd lady's both received the same greeting, the 3rd lady looked like she was about to hit me with her riding crop for some strange reason.
It was only as i looked down in order to climb off the wall that i realised the 'small hole' in my lycra shorts had expanded to completely expose my groin - i had been stood there merrily wishing them all a nice day whilst my block & tackle were hanging happily in the breeze...
😳 😳 😳
Went round a very simple corner with a left turn at the end, tokk a silly line over a bump on the apex front wheel sank into the soft rubbish on the inside and ove rhte bars I went into the depression on the inside of the corner.
Cue stuck on back like a turtle, to add insult to injury I might've been doing 3mph if I was lucky!!
Also as a small child of about 8 I decided that the rear brake wasn't strong enough for really good skids (on my Raleigh Stryka), so I swapped brakes over to the European style (ie my right hand could squeeze harder). Sadly by the time I was set to break the world skid record, I had forgotten. It was a long and lonely walk back to the bike. It was only a short cycle of 100m home to swap the brakes back over
When I was 13 I went out on my bike (a rather nice pale blue to white fade road bike) with my arm in a sling from a broken thumb. The shifters were on the stem. I went to change gear on the opposite side, and pretty obviously twisted the bars and over I went. Pretty much the same spot as I vaulted the bats 5 years earlier. I walked back and finally agreed with my parents that I should walk to school till I could use both hands on the bars
I was in the living room, on the 4th floor and the ribs connected with the coffee table.
Classic
Just remembered possibly my silliest crash, riding down a deserted tarmac cycle path mobile rings, no-one and no obstacles for miles so I carry on riding while I take the call. Fone in right hand chatting to the mrs I need to change gear, reach over with my left to change, sounds easy but if you've ever tried it you'll know it's not, veered over to the bushes and crashed. Fortunatley no audience except having to explain to mrs why I was wearing loudly.
