Heart in mouth, wheels on grass!!

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

I've spent a pretty frustrating day working on an essay that is going nowhere, and on my way home for dinner I took a longer loop and pedalled away my frustration.

As I was nearing home I was pushing the envelope a little and hot on the pace, I approached my favorite corner on my commute.

Its a shared path, a good 3m wide, decent surface but slightly rippled by tree roots, not enough to crack the tarmc, but just enough to be challenging on the corner. I take a tight corner to the left, thats slightly downhill, and is at an X shaped intersection. Anyway, its a cool corner to take at speed, especially since you can see along all 3 paths before you get there, so that you know if you can go fast or take care of peds and other cyclists in advance.

I saw with glee that it was totally clear and lined myself up, and leant into the corner at serious speed. I felt and heard the front wheel squirm on the edge of grip and almost as soon as I apexed the front wheel let go and slipped Luckily I let the bike move underneath me, and the front gripped again, but I had come off my edge to edge line and was headed for the wet grass at 30kph on a roadbike

I didn't manage to correct my line and everything went a bit agricultural. In short order I was sliding along the grass still attached to the bike. We came to rest unharmed but very wet and muddy. As I got back onto the path I met an old gentleman riding a fairly heavily laden Spesh Tricross.

"Have a little trouble staying on the path eh?"
"Erm, yes. Too much legs, not enough brain"
"Indeed. I remember running wide on a corner as a young man, I hit the verge and landed in a drainage ditch full of water with a broken collarbone."

The convo continued, as we cycled together for a short way before going in seperate directions.

Just thought I'd share. Cycling rules!! If I had been silly like that in a car or on a motorbike (which I doubt I would have been, the place for speed is on track not on road) the result could have been very serious indeed. As was, I got very muddy, and had a pleasent conversation with another cyclist. I would have preferred not to crash, but I can't say it turned out too badly

 

[HLaB]

There's a similar shared use path near me though it pretty straight. When I did the Pedal for Scotland ride last year a rider lost it on a section of the path rippled with tree routes also and got what looked like a bad gash.

 

[Maz]

Why not admit it, jacomus? You were commuter racing with the old boy on the tricross and he was clearly gaining ground on you!!

 

[Tynan]

yuk yuk, if the wreck is all your own and involves no-one else, fill your boots

 

[Paulus]

I was in Harrow yesterday and watched as a lad on a MTB was weaving his way down the pedestrianised high street when his front wheel turned at a right angle and off he went onto the road infront of a bus stop that just happened to have a few black kids waiting there. They couldn't control their laughter. The kid who hit the road seemed unhurt, apart from his pride/ego, but instead of just getting back on and carrying on he decided to have a go at the kids at the bus stop for finding it funny. I watched for about ten minuits as he gestured and argued before finally going on his way, pride still shot to pieces and nothing gained at all.

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

Small spills can be amusing indeed. I bet if anyone had seen me do it they would have laughed, my housemate certainly did when I got home plastered in mud!!

 

[Tynan]

I was on the scooter last year and trundling alone filtering in heavy traffic on the North Circ, some chavvy kid on something frightful and tricked up was revving it and trying without success to worm through the traffic

me watching him amusedly when the locked the front and dumped it and himself into the wet road to the immense amusement of me and the surrounding three lanes of traffic who had clearly being waiting for it to happen

happy days

 

[Eat MY Dust]

Jacomus, how many times have you fallen off your bike in the last 12 months? I'm sure every other post is about you hitting the deck!!!!!!! Apart from a clipless moment I haven't fallen off a bike in over 20 years!!

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

It is 5 times, three of which were pure accidents, and were non-preventable, 2 were caused by me riding too fast

 

[4F]

It is 5 times, three of which were pure accidents, and were non-preventable, 2 were caused by me riding too fast

Could it be the additional weight of your camera on your helmet putting you off balance ?

 

[magnatom]

Could it be the additional weight of your camera on your helmet putting you off balance ?

Good Point FFFF! Did you get it on camera Jacomus?!

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

I don't have the camera mounted on my head, it usually goes on the bars.

No, no camera, I haven't been using it much recently in general, and this time I was going home after training so wasn't carrying it at all.

 

[Keith Oates]

You're not alone in doing silly things jacomus, at least I know I do from time to time, just so long as you learn from them and you're not hurt, put it down to experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tetedelacourse]

ha ha, good work Jac. Go easy on those afterburners.

 

[BentMikey]

Jacomus, how many times have you fallen off your bike in the last 12 months? I'm sure every other post is about you hitting the deck!!!!!!! Apart from a clipless moment I haven't fallen off a bike in over 20 years!!

Crikey!! I reckon if you aren't falling off, you aren't trying hard enough. Mind you I've had a lot more than 5 crashes off my skates in the last year.