Embarrassing crashes

Chingbling

Went with Davildo to Bedgebury today.
Managed to crash while cruising from the car park to the trail about 150 yards from the car, in front of a couple in a lay-by while travelling in excess of 2 mph cleaning my sunglasses.
Result: twisted handlebars, bent brake lever, bashd up hand and knee, dented pride.
Cause: speed hump.

Anyone else made themselves look daft recently?

chedabob

Tried to jump a set of small rollers and taco'd the rear wheel. It was on a blue route too :oops:

Anonymous

I was adjusting my rear mech years and year ago. I was on the drive, on the bike and looking down at the rear wheel, and tweaking the adjuster on the shifter.
I looked up, and the road was empty. I looked back down again, and pedalled slowly out of the drive, looking at the rear mech, trying to figure out why it was missing one gear.

Turns out, that in the 10 seconds, or less that I was moving, a car had pulled up and parked, and I hit it right in the center of the front bumper

Another time more recently, I thought I'd try and learn how to wallride.
I dunno why, I think I'd been watching Roam or Seasons or something.
Anyway, I tried it, and ended up basically riding straight into a wall, right in front of several coaches-worth of tourists.
Luckily I had the presence of mind to give them that "yeah, so...? That's what I meant to do" look

cat_with_no_tail

Straight over the top of the final berm on the BikeRadar Live demo tracks right in front of everyone who was stopped waiting at the bottom of the trail, most of whom were half my age.
In my defence though, I was far from the only person who used this berm as an unintentional detour.


Another time, I was out in the street after fettling, much like Mcgee above, I was paying more attention to the bike than what was happening around me. Went to turn around, somehow turned the bars to 90deg and basically just did a very VERY low speed topple over.


Oh, then there was the time I disappeared into a MASSIVE snow drift because I thought it was only a couple of inches deep (turned out to be about 5ft and I went RIGHT in)

butcher of bakersfield

I started a similar thread a while ago. Many years ago on my BMX, crusing down the street looking at the front wheel to see if it was buckled, I hit a parked car. Landed square on my knee and it hurt like buggery. I honestly thought I'd split my kneecap in two. But powered by embarrassment I jumped straight back up and pedaled/pushed with one leg, back round the corner home. Then curled up into a little ball clutching my knee.

More recently though, the other week I was doing the local run. Down the street, a short blast down the road, off down a shortcut through some trees and out onto the main road..

Well, just as the shortcut ends and meets the main road, there is a trampled down wire fence where people pass through. Doing all of about 4mph, not concentrating, my pedal caught the wire fence. My bike stopped and I went straight over the bars in full view of the passing traffic.

Miggins

Not on a mountain bike but a long time ago I was approaching a roundabout and needed to get into the right-hand lane for two reasons: 1 - to overtake a bus stopped at a bus-stop, and 2 - because my intention was to turn right at the roundabout. So, having spotted that the traffice ahead of me and in the right-hand lane was moving nicely along, I looked over my right shoulder to check it was safe to pull into the right-hand lane. It was. To make a swift and safe lane change I needed to expedite so it was head down and accelerate! Looked up and the traffic in the road ahead had stopped. BANG! Straight into the back of what was ahead and over the bars I went. Luckily, what I hit was a trailer (a generator used for powering temporary traffic lights, I seem to remember. Would've been much worse if it'd been a van). I landed on my chin on top of it and totalled the front wheel of the bike. A couple of vehicles back in the queue was an ambulance. Two paramedics jumped out to see if I was ok, which I was, but it was all highly embarrassing. Especially as the bus was still at its stop with all the passengers in the right-hand seats staring at me :oops:

cycle monster

Six months ago I took a few mates out on my favourite trail. Half way round I said "Be careful through this section guys as there are a load of roots and ruts to get your front wheel stuck in" as I finished saying this my front wheel plugged in a rut and over i went amidst great hilarity!

mak3m

last crash on my first ride around cannock

clear track, bit of mud, slowed to stop and fell sideways (knackered)

pretty nasty fall, dislocated my pride but was soothed by the fact nobdy saw

Anonymous

I hope to dear gods that "dislocated my pride" is NOT an euphemism :shock:

mak3m

yeehaamcgee wrote:

I hope to dear gods that "dislocated my pride" is NOT an euphemism :shock:

lol no just my pride however the nose of my saddle explored few regions i wished it hadnt :shock:

DaveMcM

On one of my first rides in SPDs around rutland water I slowed gently for a gate across the track, couldn't unclip and toppled gracefully to one side as I came to a halt.

Luckily some sheep were the only witnesses...

Dick Scruttock

I crashed twice the other week on my road bike. Once 2 meters after leaving my house into a neighbours car while setting up my garmin and once on the same ride leaving the pub after 6 pints of Peroni and trying to clip in at 0 mph. I got a wobble on and went sideways down 6 steps sideways at 0 mph. Thank fuck the skin took the pain and not the expensive carbon bike!

Buckled_Rims

Great timing post - at approx 15:30 this afternoon I had the MTB bike at Newcastle, went over the swing bridge and I carried the bike down the stairs to the quay side. I miss-placed my SPD and accidentally grabbed the front brake in front of a parked car at the same time, the rear wheel bucked up, I fell onto the bonnet the parked car in front of about 10 people.

I sprinted fast to get away! Totally my fault.

Boy Lard

On Wednesday night was out with a mate. We did a few little trails we'd not done before and a dodgy drop off that it took us about 20 minutes to build up the bottle for. Follownig that we completed the tricky downhill bit and reached the bottom, safe and sound, but pumped full of adrenaline. So we set of on the nice smooth flat path back though the woods to the canal.

Only at some point my bike decided to jump up and hit me in the arse. Still don't know what happened, I was out of the saddle chasing my mate and almost instantly transitioned from cycling to running in an attempt to prevent my face hitting the floor. Mate said all he heard was a bang and a squeak and he looked back to see my legs going round like a cartoon character, chasing him, but without my bike.

When I got back to my bike, the saddle was mangled. I now am having a bit of trouble sitting down.

Alex

Downhill race + tricky course + ice + diagonal offcamber roots + section surrounded by cameras:

www.pinkbike.com/photo/4391215/

Disco inferno!

mak3m

Alex wrote:

Downhill race + tricky course + ice + diagonal offcamber roots + section surrounded by cameras:

www.pinkbike.com/photo/4391215/

Disco inferno!

lol airbrush out the background and drop in a ramp and you would look like you are getting serious airtime

turpinr

coming back from the paper shop on my bike and falling off.....2 broken ribs and a red face

submityournentries

biking up my road looking at my rear derailer to check what gear it was in, whilst shifting, again at the speed of about 5mph. bumped into the back of a parked car. looked up, and thankfully there was noone in the car. less thankfully my neighbours were outside their house having a chat, watched the whole thing and burst out laughing.

mak3m

Alex wrote:

Downhill race + tricky course + ice + diagonal offcamber roots + section surrounded by cameras:

www.pinkbike.com/photo/4391215/

Disco inferno!

fixed




happy landings

stubs

Riding down some steps recently managed to get my new very baggy baggies caught on the back of the saddle. Arrived at the bottom at the same time as some walkers tried to stop ended up on my back as I couldnt untangle myself from the bike. Had to wriggle out of the shorts as one of the leg vents was by now completely stuck on the seatpost QR . Everyone stopped and had a good giggle at the fat bloke standing there in his padded boxers trying to get his shorts off the bike with tearing them.

The shorts are now non bike wear.

climbingpixie

Went out for a road ride on Monday, trying to get used to my SPDs, and had no less than THREE embarrassing toppling over sideways moments - one of which was in front of a bus full of people! Ended up with skinned knees, bruised pride and a boyfriend who couldn't stop laughing at me but hey, the spuds were ace all the time that I was upright!

Bikehawk

Cycling through town busy admiring a couple of good looking girls, failed to notice the large white frozen goods truck unloading. Went up the back of it using the steps for the driver to get into the back. Luckily the door was closed so just ended up on my back with the bike on top of me with everyone in the street looking at me including the driver. Got sheepishly up and cycled away to peels of laughter.

kaytronika

Pedaling up the garden path, not even got 3 metres... Stacked on the garden lawn.

Doh.

thel33ter

A few times recently I've stepped off the bike, not noticed the rut on the edge and landed in a big heap of camelback, bike and me :oops:

Also rode into an overhanging tree today trying to go through it.

Oh yea, and in the middle of Woking town centre I rode down about two stairs outside the bank and had the biggest faceplant of my life. I admit I left pretty sharpishly agter that.

kaytronika

The snow drift tale reminds me.. I did similar... It was on a split level playing field and the drift had formed at the point where the level dropped to the lower field. Or so I thought... The drift was actually a good three feet after the drop and had totally hidden said drop... My front wheel sank in to the snow, throwing my weight forward in to a slow motion trip over the bars... Sadly I wasn't carrying nearly enough momentum to complete my trip in to the soft snow below... I stopped lying across the bars, the frame then came round to ones side and squished my love spuds against my leg.

Shrieks of pain while a bemused dog walker looked on.

ilovedirt

Once, on my old BMX, one of the pawls inside the freewheel had broken off and was rattling around inside the freewheel, which i didn't know at the time. While i was pedaling fairly vigorously, the snapped pawl decided to stick inside the freewheel so the whole drivetrain stopped moving and i effectively pushed myself over the bars! There was a woman walking down the street as well, bet she wondered what on earth i was doing!

davildo

Riding across a dark school playing field, long jump pit. You can guess the rest!

Many years ago, riding home from school through the High Street a Royal Mail van suddenly pulled over at the side of the road, leaving me no option but to have a little lie down on the pavement. The postman got out of the van, looked at me and twisted bike and said, 'what you doing down there mate?' and walked into the Post Office.

Incidentally, I saw (well, heard actually) Ching's crash mentioned at the start of this thread. He has failed to mention that this was his first proper ride out on his new bike!

Alex

mak3m wrote:

happy landings

Cheers, that's my new avatar

kaytronika

Riding a cheap poorly maintained road bike.... Changed gear at the back, pulled the rear mech in to the rear wheel.

fatwomble

I was asked to help with a mountain bike ride with the Cub pack my son was in, as they knew I was a keen mountain biker.

I managed to fall off twice during the ride, once when the front wheel washed out on a sandy bit and once on a very shallow rut at very low speed. The only other incident being when my sun fell off taking a jump I had told him not too.

Duggan13

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

But powered by embarrassment I jumped straight back up and pedaled/pushed with one leg, back round the corner home. Then curled up into a little ball clutching my knee.

It's amazing how much pain you can hide purely due to the need to get out ASAP to avoid being any more embarrased