"Oh Shit" moments...

Strangely I didn't speak/shout/utter a sound.

I never make a sound when having 'oh shit' moments, even when I ought to be shouting angrily at idiot drivers/peds, I don't know why, I think I'm usually too shocked to think about constructing coherent sentences. Also I have a stupid girly voice so roaring profanities doesn't really work.

Sometimes I manage a vague scowl, but that's about it.

riding back home on the B, i've turned right at the North End road double roundabout from earls court direction. heading to the lovely side roads to home.

Cars are parked on the left then there's a Pedestrian crossing with 2 people (an elderly couple) waiting. There's no-one behind me (shouldercheck) other than a lady on a bike that I've just overtaken. Slightly left of primary position due to the parked cars just after the crossing (natch) and I stop.

The other lady on a bike is just behind me when a Landrover Discovery comes screaming up - I hear the ABS kick in and it misses me by 'a few inches' cough and continues at speed over the crossing. It must have accelerated hard after the double roundabout as it was doing 40+ ..

The couple that had started crossing were in shock. The lady on a bike looked shocked. I remarked to her 'you'd have been a good witness' and I tried (and failed) to get the plate of the 4x4. raise my arms with a 'wtf' style motion and an arm appears from the drivers side window and waves (which I interpret as 'sorry') as the disco semi fishtails down the road away towards the A4. Female driver.. I think.

What could i have done differently?

• been in secondary position. Hmm, not nice with the car doors awaiting just a few feet after the crossing.
  
• er. wearing very obvious clothing (white Shutt VR long sleeved top) ..
  
• um..
  
• had my camera with me and on.
  
  

They just didn't look. They weren't paying attention to the road, simple as.

I think I've stopped shaking now.

I had an 'Oh Shit' yesterday, coming up to Old St roundabout. Someone on here probably saw it.

Riding on outside of dense, slow moving traffic up to the round about - and out of nowhere a taxi indicates from the lane I'm in, to make a U turn to the opposite lane and back on himself. Didn't check his mirrors, or give me any time to get out the fucking way, before swinging into the opposite lane. I'm desperately trying to slow myself down, but literally had 3 /4 meters, so end up trying to make a fast U turn (probably should've tried that leaning technique, ha). End up totalling the side of his cab and he skews my front wheel. Fine other than a graze/bruise on my arm. Just annoyed.

Similar thing again this morning, on the junction of Amhurst / Shacklewell in Stoke Newington - slow moving traffic, i'm in the bike lane on the left, van drive reverses from parked position on opposite side of the road to make a U-turn, without checking how fast the cyclists were coming up. Blocks cycle lane. End up slowing down enough for it not to be too much of a problem, but i do hit his bumper - at which point I get called a c*nt. Brilliant.

I swear to god the last two days have just felt like people aren't paying attention. Or I'm going mental. Worrying.

I've been wiped out by a stray U-turn before now. Properly scary.

Glad you're ok, Drac!

Yesterday, in a tiny village just north of York: Cycling along a road with a little dirt track coming up on the left. Driver on opposite side of road looks me in the eye and then turns across my path - a bit annoying (drivers are normally more courteous in the countryside) but I just had to do a little leg-braking.

The driver stops just as they've turned into the junction, and puts it in reverse, at which point I'm right behind their car - I see it move backwards at speed in the corner of my eye so I do a little sprint to get out of the way. I'm pretty pissed off at this point.

Now I'm coming up to a fork in the road - the road carries on towards the right so I stay in lane. A shouldercheck confirms the idiot is right behind me, indicating left, and there's another car a little way down the road. I indicate just to make sure she knows that I'm staying on the road to the right. I hear the engine roar and the driver shoots past me, turns left across my path - I stop in time but do the one-foot-on-floor hop for a few seconds before falling over into the grass.

The car behind turns out to be a police car - the guy in the passenger seat winds down the window and asks if I'm okay. He says they both saw the whole thing, gave me his phone number and then the car put its sirens on and followed the lady's car at speed. I phoned when I got home and I'm expecting some paperwork tomorrow. Go North Yorkshire Police!

Result. When shit like that happens I always find myself wishing that the fuzz were around to see it.

Immensely satisfying :)

probably paulo from the dodgy paint-job thread out for weevengwee.

well riden..nice.. I had some 1 do a U turn on me the other day (old lady)I swerved, she must have been really close to clipping my back end.. it would have been over for me..lol my friend behind me said that was pretty close.. we laughed it off...someone was looking out for me that day

Ok, so my near miss yesterday....
Got to my dance class and lifted my bike slightly to get it into position to lock up to drainpipe and my back wheel falls out!!!
Had a look and the spindle wasn't there - WTF?!?!
Fortunately I was only about a mile away from home, but still had to carry it on my shoulder with the back wheel in other hand (cue a couple of sarky comments from passers by, but funnily enough no offers to help carry the bloody thing!).
Turns out that when I was practicing clipping in and out the other day, the other half had taken the spindle out of this bike to pop onto the one we used on the turbo trainer and forgot to put it back in! I can't believe I rode about a mile without it in and without the wheel coming out! Lucky.

Wow! That's damn lucky..

Ever since a mate of mine had a bad crash because of a loose front wheel I never leave a bike unridable. If you take the spindle out, loosen the nuts, whatever, you take the wheel off too. Never leave it looking like it's ridable.

Ever since a mate of mine had a bad crash because of a loose front wheel I never leave a bike unridable. If you take the spindle out, loosen the nuts, whatever, you take the wheel off too. Never leave it looking like it's ridable.

I know. O/H is suitably sheepish. Needless to say that before taking any of the bikes out in the future I will not only do the usual check of tyres and brakes, but also ensuring that the wheels don't fall off!

Ok, so my near miss yesterday....
Got to my dance class and lifted my bike slightly to get it into position to lock up to drainpipe and my back wheel falls out!!!
Had a look and the spindle wasn't there - WTF?!?!
Fortunately I was only about a mile away from home, but still had to carry it on my shoulder with the back wheel in other hand (cue a couple of sarky comments from passers by, but funnily enough no offers to help carry the bloody thing!).
Turns out that when I was practicing clipping in and out the other day, the other half had taken the spindle out of this bike to pop onto the one we used on the turbo trainer and forgot to put it back in! I can't believe I rode about a mile without it in and without the wheel coming out! Lucky.

I was about to post that in here, as I had an "Oh Shit!" when LH arrived home.

Easy, but stupid mistake to make. Along with forgetting to reconnect the back brake after fixing a flat, it's my worst yet. Although the mis-threaded BB comes close.

for your viewing pleasure...

http://www.dailycognition.com/index.php/2007/04/29/pictures-of-oh-sh-t-moments.html

Ok, so my near miss yesterday....
Got to my dance class and lifted my bike slightly to get it into position to lock up to drainpipe and my back wheel falls out!!!
Had a look and the spindle wasn't there - WTF?!?!

Slightly related: visited my parents a couple of weeks ago and they said they'd bought new bikes (decent Giant hybrids with front suspension... well, they're old). Went into the garage to have a look and both the front QRs were loose enough to undo with a finger. And apparently they'd been riding them.

W.T.F! thats frickin' awesome!

Vid of Theo Bos doing revouts in a big gear behind a motor doing 140kmph!
YouTube - Wielrennen - Theo Bos met 140 km per uur op Mallorca

Sorry...THIS IS FRICKIN' AWESOME!

only one that comes to mind was riding my brakeless kabuki submariner FG across campus. coming up to a busy intersection with a red light i went to stop. Pedals started turning backwards but the bike kept bombing forward at full steam. managed to unclip, jump off the bike sideways and run off to the side of the road with it. I consider it lesson learned, i will never build a FG with no brakes, and a cottered crank again in my life. the chainring came loose from the crank arm, and would just free wheel around.

an example of an 'oh shit' moment; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-13647541 don't really know how i feel.

I know the split second rage at someone so careless that they cant be bothered to look before opening doors, not sure where the blame lies here

not sure where the blame lies here

the sidewalk. sounds like the guy got a solid punch to the face that knocked him over. not killed him. when he fell, he hit his head. just as the cyclist would likely have had happen had he ran into that car door that opened in his path.

the guy should have checked before opening his car door.

the cyclist shouldnt have punched the guy.

the sidewalk shouldnt have killed the man.

lots of things that should and shouldnt have happened in that situation. but very regrettable non the less.

the sidewalk shouldnt have killed the man

Fucking sidewalks. Watch out for them lads, they'll have you if you're not careful. Just look at what they did to poor innocent Spotter yesterday.

Cyclist at fault plain and simple. It's road rage. People who open doors without looking may well deserve a slap, but I can honestly say I've never been wound so tight as to punch someone in the face because they were stupid on the road. Especially not hard enough to knock them on their face.

"on their face"? By the sound of it the man fell backwards hitting his hip area on the kerb and his head on the pavement. Anyone can be struck to the floor if you catch them off guard.

Admittedly you shouldn't resort to violence but in the heat of the moment it's often what comes out, also drivers just don't get the point you're trying to make so you end up doing it out of pure frustration.

No I get that. But manslaughter's fairly straight forward isn't it. No one is saying that the guy intended to kill the admittedly negligent motorist, but the result of his road rage based attack was that the guy lost his life. It's a shit situation all round but if I punch someone and they die, it's my bad. (some will argue self defense I suppose, but the original incident was over). I just feel that we might be in danger of siding with the cyclist because we're 'family'. If I was out in my car and I made a cock up, endangering someone, I'd accept absolute responsibility for it, but I wouldn't expect to be attacked for it. It's the rules.