Cycling mishaps

Racouol

Ride a bike long enough and something is bound to happen. It can be something as simple as the bike falling apart on you as you ride away from a Wal-Mart to having your bike snap in half as you ride straight into a Wal-Mart you didn't see. Both are true stories by the way. Please share some of your cycling mishap and I shall share some of mine.

becky10rp

Maybe stop cycling to Wal-Mart.........lol

krbrx11

Two types of cyclists those that have crashed and those that will. Years ago while mountain biking I hit a deer broadside. I was not hurt and I don't think she was either. We both got up and went on our way. As I departed I realized I had a mouth full of fur.

WatchJoshLift

How do you not "see" a Walmart? I quit riding a bike when I crashed into a parked van. I zoned out and for some reason I was staring down at my tire, and SMACK, right into the back of a parked van.

wizzybeth

I was going to say the same thing - how does one not see a Walmart? LMAO
My son's chain fell off his bike when the gears just fell apart while riding on Long Beach Island NJ.

Racouol

Run_Fit wrote: »

How do you not "see" a Walmart?

The simple answer would be I got distracted by a bird. Behind that Wal-mart there was a heavily forested area with a few small clearings. I entered that trail system from a residential area on the other side of that forest. As I got near the Wal-mart end in one of the clearing a blue heron startled me as it suddenly took flight near me. I guess at that point I zoned out and didn't notice the forest ending and the asphalt beginning. I realized what happened when I rode straight into the building. To be fair this was the back of the Wal-mart and there wasn't much distance between the woods and that building. Thankfully I didn't have to walk all the way home carrying both halves of the bike. I classmate saw me and gave me a ride.

WatchJoshLift

Racouol wrote: »

Run_Fit wrote: »

How do you not "see" a Walmart?

The simple answer would be I got distracted by a bird. Behind that Wal-mart there was a heavily forested area with a few small clearings. I entered that trail system from a residential area on the other side of that forest. As I got near the Wal-mart end in one of the clearing a blue heron startled me as it suddenly took flight near me. I guess at that point I zoned out and didn't notice the forest ending and the asphalt beginning. I realized what happened when I rode straight into the building. To be fair this was the back of the Wal-mart and there wasn't much distance between the woods and that building. Thankfully I didn't have to walk all the way home carrying both halves of the bike. I classmate saw me and gave me a ride.

I just realized you're the same guy who caught his leg on fire while making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Poor guy, you can't seem to catch a break.

Racouol

Run_Fit wrote: »

Racouol wrote: »

Run_Fit wrote: »

How do you not "see" a Walmart?

The simple answer would be I got distracted by a bird. Behind that Wal-mart there was a heavily forested area with a few small clearings. I entered that trail system from a residential area on the other side of that forest. As I got near the Wal-mart end in one of the clearing a blue heron startled me as it suddenly took flight near me. I guess at that point I zoned out and didn't notice the forest ending and the asphalt beginning. I realized what happened when I rode straight into the building. To be fair this was the back of the Wal-mart and there wasn't much distance between the woods and that building. Thankfully I didn't have to walk all the way home carrying both halves of the bike. I classmate saw me and gave me a ride.

I just realized you're the same guy who caught his leg on fire while making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Poor guy, you can't seem to catch a break.

I am somewhat accident prone. Thankfully I usually do not get too seriously injured from these accidents.

rileysowner

I have not had too many mishaps. The biggest I had was having the wheel of my mountain bike go off the side of the road where they had not properly back filled. The drop was about 5 to 6 inches and the pavement caught the tire wall stopping it dead. I flipped over the handle bars and landed on the pavement. I was fairly shook up but dragged myself and my bike off the road. Id had several abrasions, cracked my helmet (although I am not sure if that was from the crash or from actions afterward, broke my hand, and the front wheel of my bike was toast. Thankfully my phone was not damaged so I could call my wife to come out with the truck and pick me up. It was only later that I really started to notice the pain.

Leadfoot_Lewis

Thankfully no big mishaps here. I have the occasional forgetting to unclip when I come to a stop. Of course EVERY time this happens someone is there to witness it.

deannalfisher

i feel off my bike...on my trainer in my basement...

mom23mangos

Very true statement. I had been commuting to work by bike for 1.5yrs before I got hit by a car. Partially my fault. I entered the intersection on a stale green light and it was 5 lanes wide. Light turned yellow for the stopped cars as soon as I passed first lane, but I was already committed at that point. Turned green for them RIGHT as I got in front of the 5th car. He didn't see me and started going. Luckily he had just accelerated so barely any speed. Knocked me off of my bike onto his hood. Thankfully no injuries other than some bruising. Bike tire was a little out of alignment, but was able to get it good enough to get me to work and home. I didn't tell my husband for 3 weeks and just wore long pants/socks to hide the bruising.

We live near downtown of a car aggressive major city and my kids ride their bikes to school. Your post is exactly what scares me...ride a bike long enough and something is bound to happen. Luckily so far the worst to happen to them is their rack coming loose and their school books getting spilt on the road.

murph155

I'm not a cyclist, but had an odd incident happen YEARS ago. It was when they first started having the bike-a-thon in Central Park (I told you it was years ago. LOL!) I was standing in line with my brand new bike waiting to register, when an out-of-control horse carriage came flying by, catching the rear wheel of my bike and bending it in half. Wound up having a shouting match on Central Park West with the owner of carriage a week later so he'd pay for my bike to be fixed.

cwolfman13

I was about 20 miles into a training ride for my first century and I didn't realize that my front tire had gotten a little low...I went around a corner and the rubber peeled off the wheel sending me over the handlebars at about 18 MPH. I fixed the tire an foolishly road the last 10 miles when I should have just called my wife for a pick up. Once the adrenaline wore off, it was very apparent that I had done something pretty bad to both of my shoulders and had road rash from hell.

It turned out that I had badly sprained both of my rotator cuffs and would require some PT as well as time off the bike. I ended up doing a 1/2 century due to losing so much training time...my injury occurred in March and I was still in quite a bit of discomfort at the end of May for my ride. It took about 6 months for me to feel "normal" again.

NorthCascades

I drove all the way to Twisp (more than 200 miles) to ride over Loup Loup Pass, and forgot to bring socks. There's nowhere to buy socks in Twisp at 5:30 pm. I wrapped my feet in napkins and did the ride.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1269592821

The way back down was on dirt roads, and the surface was badly washboarded in places, so I had to ride the brakes pretty hard a lot of the way down. That's when I learned that you can overheat braking fluid and contaminate your brake line, on a bike.

ew_david

My cheap Walmart bike fell apart on a trail in rural Virginia. That was the last Walmart bike we ever purchased.

Sara1791

I had about 10 miles to go in a 40 mile tour, had gotten separated from my group, & my pedal snapped off. I finished anyway, using just one pedal (& met my group at the end).

megemrj

I cut my big toe off when I was 4 in the teeth of my cousin's bike...Well I blame my older brother as he was driving.

To make matters worse my gma had just walked past us and said "Mickey you shouldn't be doing that."

Broke my left wrist when I flipped over backwards on my bike when I was 10..Either that or later that night when I was jumping bed to bed in my sister's room and fell and hit her headboard..

So ended my cycling days....

4guysandagirl2016

I was bit by a neighborhood dog. Now I'm terrified to ride past homes with dogs. I do it but I really don't like it!!

goldthistime

Lol, a gruesome fest! @megemrj seems to be in the lead with losing her big toe. I have only road rash tales, just ground off a fingernail badly enough that it never really came back. Not even in the running.

dfc4

I used to race the spings classics here in Europe.......my worst race was Paris Roubaix back in 1989.
Just before the finish line my equipment gave up on me and my handelbars broke off.
I did a perfect foreward summersault as i crossed the line....best finish i ever did in a race

lporter229

Two years ago I had suffered a stress fracture in my foot, so I was prescribed to wear a walking boot. I was told not to run, but that riding a bike would be okay if I could do it to maintain my fitness. I was riding on a bike path and was about 10 miles from my car when suddenly my entire peddle crank setup came off. Just like that. Stupidly, I did not have any tools with me. I tried to fix it, but only managed to make a mess of grease. I called my husband to come pick me up at the closest station, which was two miles away and I started walking in that direction when another cyclist stopped to help. He, fortunately, had a set of tools and helped me to reassemble it well enough to make it back to my car. On my way home, I stopped to use the restroom and looked in the mirror. I had grease all over my forehead and cheek. What a sight I must have been, hobbling along with one foot in a boot, face smeared with grease, carrying a bike crank in my hand. I must have looked like a deranged lunatic! How nice of him to stop.

For the record, I never leave home without a set of allen wrenches anymore!

NorthCascades

4guysandagirl2016 wrote: »

I was bit by a neighborhood dog. Now I'm terrified to ride past homes with dogs. I do it but I really don't like it!!

I did a half century in Ellensburg, which isn't a place I'm very familiar with. About 40 or 45 miles in, this dog comes running off the porch it was sleeping on, past the end of its yard where a fence might be, and at me. I had more sprint left than I would have thought, but the dog had legs, too. I threw my water bottle at it. It's really hard to aim when you're pedaling as fast as you can, and I missed the dog by several feet. But it had a new target, and chased the bottle, leaving me alone.

I liked that water bottle, I had got it on a cycling vacation.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1116892023

denversillygoose

If you buy your bike at Walmart then you're pretty much guaranteed a mishap.

I've just nursed some really awesome road rash. My daughter lost her big toenail because her dimwitted grandmother let her ride her bike in flip flops.

michael1976_ca

when i was a kid me and my older brother. rode our bikes home. i was going real fast stood up and slammed on the breaks. i flew over the handle bars.

mom23mangos

megemrj wrote: »

I cut my big toe off when I was 4 in the teeth of my cousin's bike...Well I blame my older brother as he was driving.

To make matters worse my gma had just walked past us and said "Mickey you shouldn't be doing that."

Broke my left wrist when I flipped over backwards on my bike when I was 10..Either that or later that night when I was jumping bed to bed in my sister's room and fell and hit her headboard..

So ended my cycling days....

OMG @megemrj you definitely win!!

__TMac__

Agree. It's not "if," but "when." (Warning: I'm about to get all serious up in your thread.)

1974: My grandfather was hit by a truck while on his bike. He died. No helmet.

2014: My father fainted from a heart condition while at full speed. Broke a few bones, got a severe concussion and was unconscious for 8 hours, but he lived. Helmet.

2016: My buddy got hit by a car a few months back. Broke many bones (legs, ribs, arms, and face), was in the hospital for a month, and is just now out of his wheelchair, but he lived. Helmet.

I've been lucky. I've wiped out a few times -- skidded out on gravel at speed, got taken out by my daughter on her bike, and have nearly gotten crunched by cars several times -- but never got more than a few scrapes. I dislike my helmet, but always wear it. My mother would KILL me if I didn't. And I'm 46.

leanjogreen18

Not a cyclist...

2nd grade - broke my wrist learning to ride a bicycle. Apparently when you stop you must put one or both feet down:).

Fast forward years later... My husband and I did the ms150 on a tandem (I had about 6 months or so in the saddle) and I made us fall over at the start and knocked down another guy (who was not happy) because I grabbed him by the leg. Husband trying to hold up the bike, me holding on to a man while trying desperately to unclip.

riffraff2112

Just this season my wheel got caught in a crack in the sidewalk (good thing I wasnt on the road yet) and I was ssent sideways into a fence. To be honest I was able to knock myself back to the upright position without falling down but it sure did some damage to my wrist.

I had a colleague get killed this fall, when a cement truck decide to turn at an intersection (the driver missed the yield and all of a sudden made the turn at the intersection sideswiping my buddy). There was nothing he could do to avoid it. Haven't been on a bike since.

Be careful out there people, traffic can be a scary place for bikes. One day ill have to get back on the bike (trails only mind you) but its still too soon and would bring back far too many memories.

columbus2015

So far, I've avoided trouble, but I live in fear of going down at full speed... watched a guy go down at 50 kph right in front of me and I was just grateful to avoid the wreckage. Took a while to get an ambulance there and haul him to the hospital (serious concussion (helmets save lives!), broken wrist, cracked a couple ribs... serious road rash).

megemrj

@goldthistime & @mom23mangos -Tbh I didn't completely lose the toe. They were able to reattach it and since I was so young it worked. It's stunted now and has early onset of arthritis but works just fine. Now if the nail would stop falling off EVERYTIME I bump it, it would be Great...

Bikes are dangerous things but I've always been a very accident prone person anyway. Think I would have done the toe and wrist things even if my training wheels had still been attached and I was wrapped in bubble wrap.