What Low Level Risks Should be Considered Whilst Cycling - Advice for Others Please!

[13 rider]

Gated roads. I will say no more in fear of feeling the wrath from @13 rider

Gated roads are perfectly safe ,It's the bloody gates that are dangerous !!!!
You forget the massive favour I did you by hitting it before you could

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Gated roads are perfectly safe ,It's the bloody gates that are dangerous !!!!
You forget the massive favour I did you by hitting it before you could

I mitigated my risk by staying behind you.

 

[Julia9054]

I once got hit on the leg by a pigeon dropping out of the sky with a broken neck. Whether it had been dropped by a bird of prey or garotted itself taking off and hitting a power line who knows?
A guy on a motorcycle going the other way saw the incident and stopped. We stared at the poor thing twitching its last for a while then I nominated him to shift it to the verge on account of the fact that his gloves were more substantial than mine.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Gated roads. I will say no more in fear of feeling the wrath from @13 rider

gated roads, you've reminded me, a gated road many years ago, with a cattle grid, one of the cross pieces on the cattle grid was missing and had been replaced with a fence post tied in place with twine.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

While I'm thinking about it, free range sheep, the road past St Giles church riding into Chesterton from the private farm road, there's no fences down that road and the sheep are as likely to be on the road as they are likely to be on the grass.

 

[Jenkins]

Badgers, based on my last two late night commutes.

 

[Paulus]

Sunburn. On the days we get a sunny day, don't forget the factor 50, particularly on the ears. They are very painful when burnt.

 

[kayakerles]

Loose leaves on moist trails. I thought my mountain bike's fat tires could hold to any ground, and I suppose they could, but wet leaves under great tires DON'T stick to other slippery leaves under them. Zipping around a not-even-sharp curve and all of a sudden, Zooop! I’m laying under my bike looking up at the trees! Lesson learned.

 

[kayakerles]

Also, deer shooting across trails on protected grounds, the kind where no hunting is allowed (I’m talking about trails relatively close to human populations). I had a momma deer bolt across the trail only @ 1m in front of me. By the time my gaping mouth closed, I was past her and didn’t even have time to use my brakes. She then nonchalantly grazed for food close to the other side of the trail.

 

[Aravis]

• Horses that get spooked by passing trains
• Toy guns poking out of bushes

 

[kayakerles]

And non-toy guns poking out of bushes!

 

[Punkawallah]

Gah! It’s a miracle I’ve survived so long :-)

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Fresh cow crap - very slippery and a definite risk. Especially if a hundred of the dim-witted buggers have recently sauntered along the lane that you are riding on.

 

[Mike_P]

Falling leafs of the spikey variety, there I was cycling along a narrow lane in June last year when I got stabbed in a finger by such. Took around a week to finally extract the buried bit.

 

[Nomadski]

Tram lines just after traffic lights, taken too acutely causing an embarrassing, extremely slow but actually very bloody accident that only a Mars Bar can mitigate.

Also, kerbs taken too acutely that rips a hole in your brand new £200 water resistant Castelli long bibs while school children laugh at you.

Lesson to learn: take tramlines and kerbs as head on as possible!

I specialise in very public 5mph accidents.