Offs

[david1701]

I have come to the conclusion that offs are almost always stupidity related. For this my sample size was one (me)and my last year or so of riding.

I came off this morning because I forgot to think maybe that cyclists underpass in the country might be a bit icy.....

I came off in novemberish because I forgot wet roads are slippery. Once I simply forgot to turn.

How does everyone else feel about this as a hypothesis for crash causes?

 

[david1701]

I feel I should Add that this is a fairly light hearted thread as I've come to the conclusion I'm a bit of a twat

 

[SoloCyclist]

I went straight through the back window of a broken down car. Used my face to smash his rear window and ended up half inside his car. Split my alloy frame in two and ended up in hospital.

I lost count of how many different people asked me the stupid question- Did you not see the car?

Yes, I answered. Just thought I'd ride through it anyway!

When my wife came to get me in hospital (again) she had to drive past the car and said it was visible for miles. Still can't explain why I never saw it. Must have been in a trance.

 

[Baggy]

Once went flying into the side of a car after borrowing a friend's brand new Raleigh Wisp and not checking the brakes were working...

Went belting downhill towards a junction. The lane at the bottom was a very, very quiet lane, but sod's law dictated that there was a car on it this time...smacked into the door, leaving them with a whacking dent and me with a pringled wheel.

They were quite relaxed about it as it was a company car. My friend also forgave me after I got her wheel repaired.

 

[Camrider]

I ended up going over my handlebars and breaking my wrist cycling home from a football match. The cause of my demise was the football boots I had ties to the bars with their rather worn laces. The laces broke one boot then went between fork and wheel, bike stopped and I did not.

 

[david1701]

keep em coming guys, making me chuckle, but I'm not looking forward to my ride home in this muck

 

[ColinJ]

I decided to do a u-turn in a narrow road to go back for a pee in the wood I'd just passed. I came to an abrupt halt and fell on my right knee. A few days later I fell on the other knee in this incident!

 

[HLaB]

I'd broadly agree with the OP but would you call a SMIDSY an off ? sometimes there is no accounting for others actions. I suppose that is stupidity related but may be someone else's stupidity.

 

[MacB]

Yep, not paying attention and cycled past the entrance to the station car park, made a split second decision to turn into the exit instead. Straight into a taxi that was pulling out, broken hand was about the only damage.

 

[SoloCyclist]

Think yourself very lucky - a friend of a friend did this and died. Sometimes our behaviour is just completely inexplicable, but at least your experience shows that SMIDSYs aren't always evil, just human.

Sorry to hear about your mate. I was lucky on a few counts as it was a busy NSL dual carriageway. I could have killed myself with the impact or bounced into traffic if I hadn't hit it hard enough to go right through the window. Good thing was my helmet was fully intact cause I took the full force on my face. I asked the doctor if my nose was broke and he said "I never met you before the incident, has it always been squinty?" :-) I said yes but it used to squint the other way.

 

[CopperCyclist]

If 'stupidity' counts as refused to take a lift off a mate to get to work in the snow, just because I want to see how the bike handles it, I may well prove you right in an hour or so...

 

[HLaB]

I was responding to someone's post and making the connection between unexpectedly parting company with one's bicycle and the fact that sometimes we look, but we don't really see what's there. Stupidity doesn't always come into it - as far as I know the guy who died wasn't stupid, he just didn't see the stationary vehicle he hit, for whatever reason. Apologies if that wasn't quite clear enough.

Sorry I was replying to the OP, I didn't realise until I hit reply that you had used the SMIDSY term too; I was thinking about a driver SMIDSY

 

[potsy]

3 falls, 2 whilst attempting tight U-turns on slippery/muddy ground
1 when my hat blew off in high winds and my attempt to stop it made me fall 'a over t'

 

[GrumpyGregry]

My lowest point....

trailquest in the mid 90's. New to me s/h Pace elastomer suspension forks on MTB. No 'lawyer tabs' on the fork drop out. QR not done up properly and must have come undone, strangely disconcerting handling as we whooped downhill after bagging a 60 pointer, hit drop off, got air, saw front wheel part company. KER-ASSSSH. Forks bent to buggery. Frame downtube creased. Concussion. Face covered in cuts and I bit through my lower lip, claret everywhere, ship open to the bone. Bike not insured. Total loss. Walked back, helped by my team mate, with bike in over shoulder and wheel in hand constantly asking "Are you sure I can't ride it?" for 45 minute. Got back within time limit! Made lady at control scream. Team mate has pictures somewhere!

 

[david1701]

If 'stupidity' counts as refused to take a lift off a mate to get to work in the snow, just because I want to see how the bike handles it, I may well prove you right in an hour or so...

make it?