Pitching Stones
 

I knew it. Someday it was going to happen and today was the day. I had just turned in a good time on a 16mi course and thought I'd turn down the main drag into town for a cool-down. Riding past a side street that was torn up for repaving I hit a stray small stone with my rear tire. I heard that telltale ***BOINK!!*** that we all know. What surprised me was the velocity at which said stone struck the drivers door of a passing pickup in the opposite lane. I was like, "what the...." and the man driving looked down (open window) with the "what the...." look on his face. Now, being there was heavy equipment to his exact left, he most likely assumed that shot to his door was from the most obvious source. Or maybe my Cannondale "Black Lightning" really has a stealth factor.

I've nailed a couple cars. Don't know any way to avoid it.

scott s.
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For a couple decades I lived in a city that had walnut trees lining many of the old county roads (legend has it they were planted by/for the women's auxiliary so that their grand-daughters would have shade on their Sunday carriage rides). Many cyclists, myself included, made a habit of purposely launching the walnuts at our fellow riders. We actually got pretty skilled at bouncing them back and forth off the front spokes. Of course that would be a lot harder to do in these days of minimally-spoked wheels.

That would be fun with the vintage 27x1.25's.

Whew. I thought this would be a sordid tale involving urologists and lithotripsy.

I once nailed a living room window from thirty yards. Didn't break, though.

There is still time for this thread to take such a turn... though really, that would more likely come under the heading of "gravel grinding." :whistle:

It is amazing how those stones shoot out from under one's tires. A few of the ones I've launched have sounded like gunshots when they take off. I'm afraid that one day, I'll crack some poor driver's windshield...

Been there ... done that, as well, fortunately with small projectiles only.

I took out a squirrel once with a deftly executed wrist flip to the handlebars and a little English sidespin on the stone. He survived but probably had some sore ribs.

My rear tire once pitched a stone all the way across the road into the guard rail. The stone then ricocheted back across the road into the left thigh of the guy on my wheel. That million to one shot raised a little welt - who knew there was that much energy in a pitched pebble?

I'd fall off the line laughing at that one.

Do you hire out for backyard bird feeder protection?

Here in Maine I am dodging acorns as well as gravel.

Darn rocks hurt like the dickens when you shoot one off your front wheel into your own knee, too...

Bill

One more reason not to ride in a group where there are stones.

Nothing like that Just Missed Me Feeling.

Too funny, fortunate the window didn't break and no one was hurt but I still had to lol.

After the incident passes and you see no one was hurt, nothing broken, it is quite funny. I was grinning and chuckling all the way home. The look on that guys face was priceless.