"Oh Shit" moments...

just had a random flashback to last night

Riding fairly fast, taxi overtaking me too close, I noticed a massive pothole just ahead. There was no room left to go round it and I didn't want to hit it so naturally I took the bunnyhop option, remembering only too late "oh shit when I bunnyhop my lo pro I fall off about 50% of the time". Luckily I didn't but I'm sure I would have had I hit the pothole, it was at least as deep as your average kerb is high.

I'm buying you a Rubber Dinghy and stabilisers Theo, you're having the runs lately....

As I returned tired to Nairobi yesterday near the end of a three hour ride in the hills, I came past "Junction" - one of Nairobi's soulless mall complexes. I remembered being warned that Junction traffic is just plain nasty. Right on queue, a battered Toyota Corolla overtook me, immediately hit the brakes and then indicated as it took a left turn right across me. A textbook "left hook" maneuver. I was on a mountain bike with disc brakes so managed to lock up the rear wheel as I yelled "FUCKING HELL", and had a shit-my-pants skid.

The most annoying part was that the layabouts on the side of the road were saying "Ey mzungu, the car was overtaking you. You have to be careful". I tried to explain that it was a left hook, but my Swahili is rubbish and their English wasn't great, so they just nodded and said "You must be more careful." Argh. Noone realised that it was shitty driving. Apparently it's near impossible to fail a driving test in Kenya, and many drivers just pay their examiner the £30 bribe for the rubber stamp.

If its anything like Tanzania where once you have insurance on your car, you are allowed to drive anyones car and there is no law against drink driving, just drinking WHILST driving, you have no hope. I asked a Tanzanian about the lack of drink driving rules and about elevated numbers of accidents and he just shrugged and said "these things happen".

The moment after another cyclist ploughs into the back of you and you pick yourself up and see this...

Forgive the dirty carpet.

I would see that as a lucky escape. Any frame that folds like that when you get shunted from behind is fucked. Folds when statutory is an arse. Folds when breaking hard at 25mph hurts. Bin it

Ndeipi and chw0112 think its an African thing, South Africa is no different.

on my way to see the baby at his mums, just cleaned and lubed the pedal mechanisms, big heavy bag on my back, take my hand off the bar so i can have a look behind, as i do this my right shoe unclips, on what is probably the worst road around here, i stamp down, take my 20 stone momentum into the bars chest first, swerve across both lanes somehow missing everything, oh shit

so calmed down, played with the baby for a bit then off to my mates, 8 miles of unlit country roads to his new place, mid bend bmw wanker comes jockeying round the corner, sees me last minute and just gives me enough room to go straight down a pothole and almost over the bars, seriously not my night, had visions of lying in the middle of the road, bleeding and having something drive over my neck, wont be doing that ride in the dark again thats for sure.

Folds when breaking hard at 25mph hurts. FRAME it

ftfy

Unlit country lanes in the dark sure are a death wish, shame though.

Years ago when i was a stupid kid, i rode almost 8 miles on my bmx to some town for some party (and a small skatepark in the day) missed the last train back, the friend i was suppose to stay with was no where to be found, later found out he passed out in the park, no trains or busses home, so my only option was to ride home or try stay with a stranger i met at the party, decided to try ride home with only a reflective bag and a light on my phone, one of the longest, shittest and most stupid night of my life, seeing street lights never felt so good!

i had proper lights, 1w front 0.5 rear, a light on the back of my lid and a hi vix jacket on, still shit myself tho

There I am eating an egg mayo and cripy bacon sandwich, take a slurp of what should have been some delicious San Pellegrino Chinotto, turns out it was Cocal Cola Zero! WTF!

I feel so embarrased as I could have easily avoided ploughing through wet leaves on cobble stones yesterday, I was a passenger on my bike for 3 metres. I have no clue how I managed to stay upright... lesson learnt!

what should have been some delicious San Pellegrino Chinotto, turns out it was Cocal Cola Zero! WTF!

The horror.

Love a nice bit of chinotto.

The horror.

Love a nice bit of chinotto.

Ludd, the deli in Lewisham sells these bad boys.
Not quite 2 litres, but about three can's worth.

I just had a definite “oh shit” moment cycling down Oxford Road in Manchester.

I was getting some speed up and suddenly my chain slipped off the chain ring and my legs were spinning like mad. I couldn’t do much but cruise down the road until I slowed down a bit. I don’t get why it slipped off though, my chain tension seems fine.

If that’s not a sign that I should be running a front brake I don’t know what is.

^when that happened to me my chain wrapped around my rear sprocket within 2 wheel rotations and wrote off the whole wheel. if i wasn't running a front brake i wouldn't have slowed as evenly as I did and would have been over the bars for sure.

Yeah I'm lucky that the chain popped off the chain ring with enough force to take it off the rear cog too. I just took my feet off the pedals and cruised to a safe spot to stop.

On behalf of JB. GET A BRAKE PEOPLE: http://www.lfgss.com/post3236262-462.html

Yesterday was a bit of an “oh shit” day, really. Chain fell off on the way to work, then on the way home my skirt somehow got caught on the saddle and I nearly fell off when stopping. I think I need to clean my chain more often and choose my clothes more carefully...

that is why i no longer wear a skirt when cycling.

The nose of my saddle occasionally snags the back of my bibs when I set off from lights. Trying to accelerate, clip in, unsnag my arse and stay upright is easier said than done - I've nearly come a cropper a couple of times that way...

The nose of my saddle occasionally snags the back of my bibs when I set off from lights. Trying to accelerate, clip in, unsnag my arse and stay upright is easier said than done - I've nearly come a cropper a couple of times that way...

Ive had this same issue but with the hole ive ripped in the arse of my jeans.

Thanks for that dglshrn! I'm OK today, just got a can of the real thing (i.e. chinotto, not the other stuff)

^^^^^, ^^^, ^^ Happens with my Wapha wind jacket too. Cheap tat :(

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I ran out of space, it ended with me sprawled in the road but uninjured.

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