What's the worst thing that's happened to you on a bike?

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spinman

spinman

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I was in 7th or 8th grade back in the the early '70s and Lenny Mahoney and me decide to cruise over to the local mall. I was borrowing Mike Kelly's 26" bike that had a newspaper basket up front. I'm not sure why I had his bike that particular day. We both had paper routes and I may have been doing his route while he was on vacation. My bike was a fenderless coppertone Sting-ray.

So we're heading home from the mall and we decide to cross a major highway not at the traffic light but a few cars before it. The cars let us thru and when we got to the elbow of the road, this car barrels right towards me. Next thing I remember is rolling off his windshield and staggering on the road. My wind was knocked out and I was limping. I had smashed the windshield with my back. The driver checked if I was OK then spllt. The ambulance took me to the hospital and patched up my ankle.

I was lucky. Just sprained an ankle. The bike's pedal was all bent up. I tell people that high 26" bike probably saved me from being thown forward into the street. Had I had my 20" sting-ray, I'd be in a lot worse shape.

And do you know Mike Kelly asked me to pay for his wrecked bike?

I wish I lived where you had nice roads/paths to ride. Drivers today are crazy.

Spin
 
In the summer of '88 or '89 I clawed my way to the top of Gunstock mountain in New Hampshire with my Cannondale and no protective equipment. There was absolutely nobody around for miles (not many people were bombing trails in NH back then.)

I started down a black diamond trail (because I'm a proper idiot) and quickly realized that my brakes would not be any use on the loose gravel and rock. I managed to keep things barely under control for a few hundred yards thought about finding a nice strong tree to slow my decent. I decided to look down at my computer to check my speed. It was difficult to read with all the vibration, but I recall reading something like 35mph, then looked up and saw the ramp - it was a big pipe buried across the trail with dirt and gravel piled over it, probably part of the snow-making plumbing.

I got seriously launched - like X-games launched, and having spent much of my life on the ground, I realized that I couldn't land it. I kicked my bike off to the side and came down on my head and right shoulder, luckily on the side of the trail where there was some grass and not so much rock. After I got done rolling down the mountain and realized that I wasn't dead or paralyzed, I went and found the bike and noticed the skid mark where I hit the ground.

After straightening the bars, I paced out the distance from the launch point to the start of the skid mark in bike lengths (I wanted to see how far I flew...) I don't recall the exact number, but it worked out to something like 80 feet along the ground, no idea how high. The only casualties on the bike were a broken brake lever and a shredded seat. I had hamburger for a shoulder, a bloody face from a cut on my head, and my butt was hanging out of my ripped shorts. My car was parked near the pro shop & cafe at the base of the mountain and when I rolled in, I think I ruined lunch for a few patrons on the patio. I stuck to less vertical trails after that.
 
well when i was 12 or so i lived in a SMALL town in illinios (pop.2000)and had a girl in the next small town(about 8 miles away)so i used to ride my bike there and back along the highway(yeah yeah......i know it was stupid but i was young) got a car that came a little to close to me and clipped my handle bars.sent me flying onto there hood and into a tangled heap on the asphalt(sad thing was i was about 4 miles away form my town) driver kept going and i had a 5" gash in my arm(cut some tendons also)and a sprained leg and the worst part was my shorts were torn so the butt was gone :oops: ! then i had to ride back to town and get my mom from work to go to the hospital. it really sucked!(funny as heck now though :roll: plus i can show my son the scar and he understands that HE has to be careful around cars!)
 
My worst thing was self induced, nobody had to help me with a car or anything like that :wink: Back in '74 we spent the summer on Isle Lamotte in Vermont at a campground. There was this paved road that led to the grounds and it was downhill. Mind you it wasn't steep, but it was about a 1/4 mile long. So are brilliant idea was to start from the top and pedal as fast as we could to see what kind of break neck speed we could reach. I had my 10 speed Raleigh Chopper MK1 at the time, so having the coolest bike on the campground obligated me to try this, besides I was more than happy to oblige. So I crank her up like mad and I'm flying down that road at the speed of light (felt that way anyways), every thing is cool and the speed rush is sweet. That's until you reach the bottom. The bottom of that road is a T intersection and the asphalt gradually turned into that nasty white gravel. For those of you who have ridden a Raleigh Chopper, you know that the front brake on that tiny front wheel grabs a lot faster than the rear wheel, especially when you have small 9 year old hands! So sure enough I grab both brake handle and squeeze them for dear life at the same time, the tiny front wheel locks up, that long rear seat lifts up with the bike and launches me in the air for a 25 feet long flight a la Superman (without the required super powers). I landed on the palms of my hands in that white gravel and spent the rest of the day popping them out of my hands, knees and elbows. Never had a crash bad enough to end up in hospital. Needless to say we started this all over again the next day, live and learn. :)
 
Worst things?...HEADERS

#1 Racing my bud down a hill on 10 speeds back in the '70s...foot slipped off the rat trap.

#2 Blinded by high beams of a car on a dark road curve in the '90's.
 
I broke my wrist when i was 12 on my haro trying 2 stand up and go no hands, DIDNT TAKE MY RITALIN THAT DAY. I wasnt in the right state of mind.

Last year, i was riding a fuji roadbike, i decided to try and do a wheelie, I had it going came down and my wheel was crooked, I
bounced off my head.

when i was like 9, I went over my handle bars and slid on my face, that was nasty... Man i got lots of injurys on bikes....
 
Well...heres one of many

I got a foldable bike from my friends trash, it had one of those crazy 3 piece cranks going on. I couldnt find the bolt thing for it so i had my neighbor weld it in place for me. I was riding it and it broke and it happend about 3 times. I was riding it somewhere when the neck broke, and then i had my neighbor weld it for me. I took it to the river with a few of my friends, jumped it in, and lost it underwater for about 2 hours. We got it back eventually Then one day the crank broke again and i gave up on the bike...so as my mom was talking to my neighbor i was giving it a last hurrah and went as fast as i could to hit a jump(which was a curb thing) and i hit the jump,Felt the handlebars go forward and then pressed on the bars harder. The weld on the neck went , i go over the handlebars and stabbed in the stomach. I was on the ground laughing, my neighbor was laughing even harder and my mom was like :roll: .

Still have tthe scar on my stomach from that day, this was a long time ago.

And i wont forget the expression of some girl with a stroller walking by...she just turned around and acted like nothing happend
 
I HATE FALLING IN FRONT OF PPL! And then there all concerned, your embaressed and just want 2 cry cuz ur like hurting and You cant cause people are watching. Instead of crying i just lay there and mumble cuss words. That helps. BUT I Hate it when ppl are like, ARE YOU OKAY, WHAT HAPPEND? Its like, I JUST FELL OFF MY FRICKEN BIKE DUH!! Lol.
 
I was about nine years old, borrowed my sisters bike, 26 inch Columbia. It had a bent front rim, just "barely" touching the fender. We were going to be late for supper, so we were going as fast as we can. The front tire was wobbling back and forth, until finally the front fender folded into the tire. The bike "flipped", I went flying, landed face first first, hit the edge of a pot hole straight on, nose first. I knew I was messed up, I could see the bone in my nose sticking out! I was spitting out chunks of teeth, and my wrist was broken. It was terrible. They "strapped" me down to a table, stuck a steel rod up my nose and put the bone back in place. Wide awake, no pain killers. When I looked back, as a young father, I made the promise to myself, that I would check my kids bikes every week, to make sure that they work PERFECTLY! Even today as the neighborhood "old guy", I check out the kids bikes and repair them for free. Occasionally, I , lovingly, have to go see some parents, to let them know that their kid is riding a "death trap". It annoys the crap out of me, when parents don't care what their children are riding around on. I can't tell you how many brakes I've repaired (cables, pads), how many helmets we've given to kids (there is a kids helmet law in this state).........I gotta go, I'm getting angry just talking about it. I need a pill! :x :x
 
I suppose it was last year when the wife and I locked handlebars and crashed amongst the 4000+ other riders and the spectators in the Tour De Fat parade. The wife only suffered a little road rash but man was it embarrassing.
Mountain biking I've went over the bars a couple times but landed off the trail on the mountain side in softer ground and never got hurt.
Don't recall anything real bad as a kid. Been pretty lucky.
 
I pulled the old - neck gives out when jumping off of somehting back in high school. Went off 3-4 stairs on a BMX bike and well, I still had kids~! :wink:
 
When I was in high school in the mid seventies I was riding home on a ten speed after a night of, well lets just say partying. I was dozing off as I was pedaling down a residential street. There just happened to be a pickup w/ one of those cabover campers parked on the side of the street, it had those really big mirriors sticking out. My legs were pedaling but my eyes were closed and BAM!!! the mirror caught me about the throat and face. I was clothes pinned, the bike kept going for a little bit before it crashed as well.Needless to say I was very awake and attentive the rest of the ride home. :shock:
 
tikiharl said:
When I was in high school in the mid seventies I was riding home on a ten speed after a night of, well lets just say partying. I was dozing off as I was pedaling down a residential street. There just happened to be a pickup w/ one of those cabover campers parked on the side of the street, it had those really big mirriors sticking out. My legs were pedaling but my eyes were closed and BAM!!! the mirror caught me about the throat and face. I was clothes pinned, the bike kept going for a little bit before it crashed as well.Needless to say I was very awake and attentive the rest of the ride home. :shock:
Click to expand...


I swear I didnt laugh lol straight out of a Chris Farley movie




ok here is mine well kinda!
http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t155 ... =pixie.flv
 
Jumping a ramp made of a cinder block and a board. Board moved after a couple jumps and must have been hanging onto the block by a thread. I came racing up, the board collapsed, I rammed the block at full speed, and remember a kind of cool superman type flight in slow motion. Real time kicked in when my face hit the trail after a rim bending endo. I drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness for a while and my Mom materialized at some point inquiring as to what type of drugs I may have been on... Split lip and chipped shoulder blade, stitches....cool scar :D :D
 
Broke my right collar bone twice.
1st time- 5yrs old riding in a Bugger bike trailer, no seatbelt. Dad had our Alaskan malamute(140lb) on one hand. At the corner dog went one way and my dad towing the trailer went the other. The trailer rolled and I landed on my shoulder, breaking the right collar bone.

2nd time- 13 yrs old- Riding my Orient Express by Peugeot MTB. Went over a waterbar on a logging road. Over I went. My brother and friend left me to walk home with my bike by myself. Broke the right collarbone 2nd time.
 
I can't really think of the worst thing, because I can't count how many times I have crashed my bike. As a kid, and even now. My friends make fun of me for being the one in our group who has crashed on the most cruises. I still have my childhood bicycle and I am amazed it's still functional despite bent forks and rims from attempted jumps and crashing into ditches. And my regular commuter has gone through 2 wheel replacements already in the past year. But surprisingly, the worst injury I've gotten on the bike is a few bruises and scratches (knocking on wood, so that tomorrow I don't break my neck on the way to work). I've broken my foot dancing, and my arm skateboarding. I've been hit by a car while riding my bike and didn't even get hurt. I think I might be invincible on two wheels... :roll:
 
took out a mail lady.. ouch.. cruising back from the hardware store on my hawthorne, on the right side of the road doing what i was suppose to be doing, w/ a pack of nails in my hand to finish up some attic stairs me and a buddy were puttin in. . when out of no where BLAMMM KNOCKED THE BLEEP OUT OF HER.. made her yardsale everyones mail. she came between two cars to cross the road not in the cross walk so she was J-walking . . had to wait around for everyone becasue she was a union worker and it was an accident. cops, post master, union rep.. etc..
 
I've broken my left arm three times. Twice on a bicycle. The first time when I was six years old. It broke in the elbow joint after falling off a 26" bike. The second time about 30 years ago during an MD Bike-a-Thon. The spokes in the front wheel let go on a nearly new Raleigh Record 10 spd. after running over a large bump in the road. I hit hard on the pavement. It trashed both wheels, fork, and bent the down tube of the frame. It broke both bones in my left forearm. That was supposed to be a family fun ride? I had back surgery last year to remove some bone fragments from my spinal colume. My left arm which is deformed from all the breaks, even caught the interest of the Orthopaedic Surgeon doing the back surgery. Thanks!!!
 

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