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  • had a fair few oh shit moments this summer. some worse than others. my straps snapped as i was pulling a skid causing me to lurch forward as i rotated one-footed along with my pedals.

    the next day: (with new straps) i went out for a ride in the country, without telling anyone where i was going and without taking my helmet. i'd been climbing a lot and was getting pretty hot and tired so i obviously welcomed a gradual decline. that was until it got a lot less gradual and i was spinning like a madman with a gear ratio of 46/20. i wasnt too concerned until i noticed that the road ahead was really dark, and then i noticed that it was wet and very muddy. i started trying to slow down but my tyres weren't gripping very well in the mud. then the hill got steeper and the road became pretty pot holed. i was still trying to slow down but when i locked up the back wheel it slid out practically horizontally due to the mud. i'm pretty out of touch with my front brake so i feathered it worried i was going to fly over my bars, and there was a lot of water/mud on my bike so it didn't seem to slow me down. the road just seemed to get steeper, bumpier, slippier and i had to navigate a few turns also. i somehow made it out of that hellish place without breaking my neck, but i almost threw up from the fear and it's the only time i've ever felt like i had no control of my bike. it's up there with the scariest moments i've had cycling and made me seriously reconsider riding fixed even with a front brake. i thanked god that my straps had snapped the previous day.

    a few weeks later i was riding in france in a group and someone a wheel length in front of me slammed on his brakes causing me to do the same thing and sending me somersaulting over my bars. turns out he had stopped to pick up someones water bottle just in case it caused an accident, but didn't look behind him first. he apologised profusely though.

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