Comedy but painful crash.

Bikequin

I was going to post this in DDD's filtering thread but think it needs a topic of its own.

I had an accident filtering this morning - It was entirely my fault, really daft and I'm sure for anyone watching absolutely hilarious.

I was filtering down the right of traffic coming down the side of Battersea Common when I come to the point where there is a shared pavement on the left (Which is useful as theres always a massive que of cars for the lights ahead and loads of parked cars). I'm cruising at a nice speed and decide to use a break in the cars to swtich over to the left. As I do so a car begins to pull out from a side road on my left - this catches my eye and I glance to the left to make sure hes not going to hit me. As I do this the car in front breaks harder and ealier than I'd expected and before I know it I'm heading head first over the handle bars into the back of the car. :oops:

Most of the impact was taken by my shoulder which is now nicely brusied, but fingers crossed the bike is ok. (Although I'm convinced I must have done some damage to the front wheel at least) The woman driving immeadiately got out and was very appologetic - despite it being entirely my fault!! And to make matters worse the builders in the van behind were wetting themselves.

I think the moral of the story is to filter on the left or the right of cars but not try and go straight through them. it hurts!!

iPete

I shouldnt raise a smile at your accident, I've nearly done this a fair few times!

MonkeyMonster

perhaps not as funny as this though...

http://bitsandpieces.us/2010/02/28/cactus-accident/

totally OT and not even bike related but still

lost_in_thought

Shouldn't be funny... must not giggle.....

DAMN!

Sorry. Ahem.

Hope you make a full recovery and the bike's OK.

kelsen

Been there, done that!

Cycling down side street next to Selfridges. Traffic in front of me. I look over my right shoulder to check right lane clear and started pulling out. Smack! Into back of white van that'd braked without me realising. Had a bus stop full of people witness it. The worse thing was the utter look of contempt from Mr White Van Man as I held up my hand in apology and cycled away sheepishly!

cjcp

Ouch. Have you checked the bike over?

prawny

Yep done that too, hit an old queen in a mini. His words were how did you hit my car it's big enough. I was like, mate it's called a mini, it aint that big.

cjcp

prawny wrote:

Yep done that too, hit an old queen in a mini. His words were how did you hit my car it's big enough. I was like, mate it's called a mini, it aint that big.

Completely OT, but, yesterday morning, a mother driving her kids to school pulls up at the lights at the end of NKR and, having sounded the horn at a cyclist 30 yards earlier, winds the window down and says something along the lines of "why are you blocking the lanes" and then "you guys aren't that fast". I replied, "in London, compared to you [in this traffic], we are". I was tempted to say "wanna race?"

Back on topic, I skidded on the red lines into the back of a lorry on Thames St a couple of years ago.

Bikequin

cjcp wrote:

Ouch. Have you checked the bike over?

I checked the bike over and couldn't see anything wrong - although I'm quite surprised as the front wheel took a pretty hefty smash. I guess bikes can be a little tougher than I thought.

cjcp

Bikequin wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Ouch. Have you checked the bike over?

I checked the bike over and couldn't see anything wrong - although I'm quite surprised as the front wheel took a pretty hefty smash. I guess bikes can be a little tougher than I thought.

My extremely limited knowledge of these things is that the wheel is intended to withstand forces on it in the direction of travel. You might want to check the steerer and headtube though.

rjsterry

I can top that: years ago (1990something) empty road, parked car on LHS, glance down to check something or other...

Thump!!

Into back of said car (at very low speed thankfully), over handlebars and in a heap.

Thankfully, no-one around to see me not looking where I was going, but despite the low speed, I managed to bend the forks.

Felt very foolish indeed.

Clever Pun

rjsterry wrote:

I can top that: years ago (1990something) empty road, parked car on LHS, glance down to check something or other...

Thump!!

Into back of said car (at very low speed thankfully), over handlebars and in a heap.

Thankfully, no-one around to see me not looking where I was going, but despite the low speed, I managed to bend the forks.

Felt very foolish indeed.

as a nipper I was out looking for my brother on my bmx looking to the right I drifted to the left and straight up the back of a car teeth first chipping one in the process... that really fricking hurt

_Brun_

I shoulder barged the back of a number 73 bendy bus.

The driver was already indicating left to pull in as he passed me, which is pretty bleedin' stupid, and in the time it took me to check if it was clear to go around him I had a face full of brake lights. Locked back brake and slid sideways into it, managing to remain upright as the bus and I slowed to a halt as one. I think several pedestrians were reasonably impressed.

Obviously a case of shitty driving, but being in a state of mild inebriation I sensibly realised it wasn't worth arguing about.

Clever Pun

sh!t that reminds me I shoulder checked a bus as well a few years back I was concentrating too much on the clown not giving me enough space to overtake and clipped the edge of the bus as it slowed to stop... that hurt a bit

annoyed I didn't dent the bus

iain_j

*puts hand up* me too.

Riding home from work a couple of years ago now, two lanes in my direction, coming up to the usual bottleneck where the inside lane's full of parked cars. Traffic in the outside lane's rolling along slowly and those of us in the inside are filtering in where we can. Then the car in front of me indicates left into a side street. I seize the chance, jump on the pedals, watching the traffic behind me - WHACK - the car in front of me had stopped cos there was a car coming out of the side street, blocking it.

It was one of those old box-shaped cars with square corners, and I got one such corner in my ribs. The bike went from under me and under the wheels of car too close behind to stop.

The driver of the car I rode into was mortified, he looked in a worse state than I was - he was only on his second driving lesson :shock: I'd done my ribs in but all I could think was "sh!t, I'll have to pay for that dent in his car and for my b*ggered bike"

iain_j

Oh and the morning still half-asleep I was watching the back corner of the bus I was following so intently, watching how close he was to the kerb, that I failed to notice he was actually slowing down and stopping at the red lights. I was about a car-length away when I realised :oops:

I'm not a morning person.

Zachariah

As a young idiot I experimented with how far I could ride with my eyes closed. After a few seconds I drifted into the kerb and crashed on the pavement. The street was almost deserted but one kindly gent came to see if I was all right.

He asked me how it happened and I told the truth. I'll never forget the look of quizzical, contemptuous pity.

I still perform this expriment from time to time, but only on foot in open spaces.

iain_j

Zachariah wrote:

As a young idiot I experimented with how far I could ride with my eyes closed. After a few seconds I drifted into the kerb and crashed on the pavement. The street was almost deserted but one kindly gent came to see if I was all right.

Yep did that too. With a mate who was directing me left and right to avoid the kerb. Except he didn't know his left from his right.

Bikequin

Zachariah wrote:

As a young idiot I experimented with how far I could ride with my eyes closed. After a few seconds I drifted into the kerb and crashed on the pavement. The street was almost deserted but one kindly gent came to see if I was all right.

He asked me how it happened and I told the truth. I'll never forget the look of quizzical, contemptuous pity.

I still perform this expriment from time to time, but only on foot in open spaces.

Thats genius -

merkin

You're not really Gordon Brown writing under an alias are you? :? :shock:

Paddy O Dawes

Used to cycle home every night down Notting Hill. With lucky lights you could hit Shepherds Bush roundabout at the bottom doing a fair lick. Which I did one night, looking right, as you do, roundabout clear, fine, look ahead: pickup truck parked on the roundabout, about 6 feet ahead: BANG! Worst thing was having to climb up into the bloody thing to retrieve my glasses, which had shot off and ended up in the truck....