apollored

Has anyone had a crash/spill that was just that bit unusual and totally bizarre?


I was cycling back from Manchester centre down the canal towpath which in that part of Manchester is muddy, very narrow verging on singletrack, very slippery and pretty treacherous in places.

Anyway I spotted a fisherman ahead and slowed down to pass him. I lost my balance and fell sideways and would probably have ended up in the canal if the poor fisherman hadnt grabbed my bike at the right moment.

Unfortunately he had laid one of his fishing rods and when I landed I fell on top of one of his fish hooks which impaled itself into my leg and wouldnt come out despite us both gently trying to manoeuvre it out.

I told him I would have to take the hook with me to the hospital to get it cut out and could I take his address so I could either return it or compensate him in some way but he said no just take it, thats ok.

Think the poor guy was too much in shock at what had happened.

I had to cycle home with the hook still in my leg and get a neighbour to drive me to hospital where they removed it with no fuss and after warning me of the dire consequences of the hook having been in the canal with a multitude of nasties, prescribed me antibiotics and sent
me on my way.

Luckily there was no serious damage done and the wound healed up in ten days or so.


Hope the poor fisherman didnt have nightmares.

me and my bike

crazy story . i was popping a wheelie on fixie once when i lost controll and landed,saved my self last minute but did not see the bench infront off me so i eneded up going head on with it and flipping over the bars in a shopping center parking lot in broad day in front of everyone there.

leob1

Fishermen, they get you all the time. I was riding along the MUP next to the D&R Canal, and slowed for some fishermen. Now, they had just 'resurfaced' the trail. This consisted of a 3-4 inch layer of crushed stone. And they left a 3-4 inch hard lip at the edge. As I slowed to pass the fishermen, I turned my head to ask how they did that day. That moments inattention let my front wheel slide off the edge. One second I was up exchanging pleasentries, the next I was down, hard. It was like somebody pushed me over from the side. They guys where really nice and came over to get me untangled from my bike, I'm sure they had a good laugh after I was gone. I put a good hole in my knee, and my wrist was sore. When I got back to my car I used the remaining water in my bottle to rinse the dirt and gravel bits out of the hole in my knee. This caused the blood and dirt to run down my leg, and turn my sock pink. It looked much worse that it was. My wife had a small freak when I got home. And the wrist? I went to the Dr. a few days later when I could use my mouse at work. Nothing broken, just a sprain.

apollored

Glad your injuries werent serious, falls on gravel and hardcore can be nasty!

Were you cycling near a river?


Not quite as crazy but I was cycling along watching an aircraft take off from the airport and had my head turned and was looking right over my shoulder.


There was a dip in the verge and I went over and couldnt get my foot down in time and ended up in a puddle with a load of brambles, ending up with a few cuts but more dented pride lol.


Luckily the police werent passing or a planespotting without due care and attention might have been forthcoming lol.

Flying Merkel

I was walking my dog one night, a big 100+ pound greyhound. His size is intimidating. Like any sighthound, things in motion fascinate him. A cute teenage girl was riding her bike on the sidewalk toward us. The street is so unsafe that that's the only way to stay alive. She fixated on my dog in fear. He stared back with an intense gaze, He loves girls. Poor little dear didn't see the signpost in front of her, smacked it and went down gracefully. Now doggy was really happy. I had to manhandle him out of there.

Trakhak

A bunch of teenagers were roughhousing on a sidewalk along the main drag in my neighborhood. One of them ran backwards, zigzagging, into the street as I was passing. Try as I might to steer from side to side away from him, he kept zigging and zagging until I slammed into him and went down fairly hard. He said, "Sorry, sir," when I back on my feet and rolling away. Last thing I heard him say: "Did he hit me on purpose?"

steve0257

Do not, I repeat, do not fall asleep while riding your bike. I did that once and ended up running into one of those concrete islands they have at intersections. Ended up bending the frame.

Surfer34

hermosa beach , middle of summer, totally crowded with people. I had taken out an old mountain bike that had been sitting for months. i took it out of my truck bed and hopped on and started peddling. as i came up to a cross street with tons of people and cars i went to pull the rear break and it was stuck, completely frozen. i was 2 seconds away from flying into a street with cross traffic so i panicked and grabbed my front break hard.

i went flying over the handle bars and straight towards a group of people. i rolled and slid and grinded to a stop. i jumped up and the crowd of drunks went wild with cheers. i was very embarrased but fortunately totally unhurt.

dynodonn 

I was making a turn at an intersection, the bike I was riding had considerably lower ground clearance than the fleet of bikes that I had, I didn't bring the inside pedal high enough up and ended up pedal striking an ADA asphalt ramp protruding from the corner curb.

Needless to say that I was bucked off the bike in quick fashion and fortunate enough that the following motorist was able to make a quick stop and keep from hitting me while I was laying in the middle of the lane.

christopheru

This one is from a few decades back - I was 16, and out on my first ride with a brand new pair of Look clipless pedals (it was 1986 or so, they were the then fancy pants new black ones) and had rolled up to a stop light which was red. I was sitting through the light, minding my own business, when a convertable full of very cute girls pulled up beside me. I did not mind that at all. They kept staring at me. I looked back. Eventually, I realized that they were staring at me not because of the ego boosting "lookit that fit cyclist" reason but because I had completely forgotten to put my feet down and was balanced there in an unintentional trackstand. I wish I had not noticed this because, naturally enough, as soon as I realized that, I desperately wanted to put my foot down and of course couldn't as it was my first ride with the new pedals.
What happened next is predictable.
I went down like a felled tree.
All the girls gasped, looked over the side of the car, and asked if I was ok.
I was of course. I just wished that the ground would do me a favour and open up and swallow me whole. As it was, I lay there struggling with the pedals until the light went green and they left.

hotbike

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, when we were discussing the girl who had the brake lever impaled in her thigh, but I had a fish hook stuck in my finger when I was 7. But being as my Dad is an Electrician, we had a pair of Linesmans "side-cutter" pliers, and were able to cut the tip off the hook (the hook had gone in and gone out the other side of my fingertip) and pull it out without the barb.

digger

Me:
Riding along on my touring bike when I decided to have an apple. Reached into my handlebar bag and pulled out a Nova Scotian grown Honeycrisp, the thing was as big as a baby's head.

Started to eat.

At that moment I heard a truck approaching from the rear. This road does have the odd logging truck, my inattention was diverted from the road (apple) to my rear view. I swerved and hit the shoulder which had new gravel laid a few days before. Front tire dug in and I went down.

Lost my apple. :-(

My dad:
Back in the 40's, when my dad was a wee lad, he and his buddy went fishing (always cycling and fishing eh?) and of course they road their Schwinn crusiers, made out of iron back then, to the fishing hole.

Well, during the back swing on a cast, my dad's fish hook caught in his buddies ear lobe. Growing up poor, my dad did not want to cut the fish hook or line. So they road back home, with my dad on his bike, with his fishing rod and his buddy riding his bike...fish hook in the ear, and a fishing line stretched between the 2 of them. Why the other guy didn't carry my Dad's rod, I'll never know.

Anyway, on the ride home and my Dad with a bit of a mean streak, would speed up on his bike thus tugging on the fish hook in his buddies ear. Causing the other guy to squeal in pain and pedal furiously to keep up. My dad always has a few gawhuffs and knee slaps every time he thinks of that story.

apollored

I dont know if you tuck your laces away if wearing trainers etc but I had a knee injury and had been to the doctor's with it.

On my way out to a busy road my left laces got tangled round my pedal and I couldnt free them.

I was hopping around trying to pull them free and ended up flat on my back with half my body on the main road with a load of cars fast approaching.

I can only say that I moved quick damn sharp back onto the pavement and carried on trying to free my laces with out success.

Eventually some lads stopped and rushed to help and I said my laces were caught. They cut them free and I was able to carry on.

After some City Gent in his pinstriped suit stepped over me and carried on. Mmph.


So if wearing shoes with longish laces, tuck them away!

digger

I did that! But it was in 1991 with a new set of Onza pedals and it was in front of one lone chick jogging at the time.

Went right over in front of her....

You win, by the way. A car load of chicks bets one lone chick, hands down.

eofelis 

A couple of years ago my bf, another friend and I were on a night road ride on a rural road. Good Niterider headlights, etc. Riding slow, 10-12 mph. A huge raccoon jumped out of a ditch right into the back wheel of my bf's bike. Took the bike right out from underneath him. He went down, hit head (helmet) and was knocked out briefly. Trip to ER, grade 3 concussion. We are wary of riding at night now - critters.