Your funny happenings, on a bike.

[Rockn Robin]

Let's here from all of you who have had a funny happening while on a bike.

Well, for me, I'm sorry to say that I haven't, but I will relate one from a bicycle mechanic a friend and I visited last Friday afternoon. He had to take his bike in for some adjustments, and like me, is somewhat mechanically challenged. While the mechanic was giving his bike a once over, we all had a nice chat. How we got onto the topic of speed, I don't quite know, but the mechanic related a story of a time when he was pulled over for speeding on his road bike. He was pumping it down a hill, when an officer pulled him over. The officer clocked him at 43mph. Normally that would be OK, as the speed limit on many of our larger roads here is 45mph. You see, because he was riding down a slight decline, he ended up through a school zone, now reduced to 35mph, which is why he was stopped by the officer. Rather than pay the fine, he decided to take it to court on his assigned date of appearance. Even the officer who wrote the ticket showed up. So when the judge read out the summons, he said, "speeding on a bicycle, you gotta be kidding . . . case dismissed." I told the mechanic, "if that was me who received the ticket, I would have paid the fine and framed it on my wall for bragging rights. After all, how many people can say, I got a speeding ticket on my bicycle?"

Your turn.

 

[ianrauk]

I was flagged down by a cop for excessive speeding down a road and setting off one of the speed warning signs. He only stopped me to offer advice for me to slow down a little as it was a bendy downhill road. I thanked him for his concern.

 

[JhnBssll]

I was under the impression that speed limits only apply to motor vehicles in the UK, although you can be prosecuted for "cycling furiously" instead

 

[Rockn Robin]

I was under the impression that speed limits only apply to motor vehicles in the UK, although you can be prosecuted for "cycling furiously" instead

I thought so on this side of the pond as well, until I heard the mechanic's story. Makes me want to get out there and get a speeding ticket myself for framing purposes, but I doubt very much I will be able to exceed any speed limits. Although, there are some school zone speed limits on less traveled roads posted at 15mph. Perhaps if I see an officer sitting nearby in his squad car, I will pass back through the zone.

 

[Rooster1]

My saddle bolt sheered off on the Ride 100 a few years back, I had to do 5 miles with a seat post only

 

[Rockn Robin]

My saddle bolt sheered off on the Ride 100 a few years back, I had to do 5 miles with a seat post only

That would indeed make sitting down a very painful experience.

 

[guitarpete247]

I was riding downhill freewheeling and got a fly in my eye. Trying to concentrate on keeping straignt I couldn't work out which eye it was in so closed both eyes and applied brakes.

 

[Sixmile]

My saddle bolt sheered off on the Ride 100 a few years back, I had to do 5 miles with a seat post only

On a leg of the 'Cycle Against Suicide' ride, one of my pedals had sheered the thread and eventually dropped out despite my best efforts to limp the bike back the remaining 5 or so miles. If anyone stops on this ride you get lifted into the sweeper immediately. So my pedal dropped off, I hopped off the bike, pedal in back pocket and rode the remaining few miles, up a few decent hills with just the left leg pumping!

 

[Profpointy]

On a leg of the 'Cycle Against Suicide' ride, one of my pedals had sheered the thread and eventually dropped out despite my best efforts to limp the bike back the remaining 5 or so miles. If anyone stops on this ride you get lifted into the sweeper immediately. So my pedal dropped off, I hopped off the bike, pedal in back pocket and rode the remaining few miles, up a few decent hills with just the left leg pumping!

Semi related, I was feeling quite pleased with myself skiing rather better than one of the locals in Norway, only on catching him up, noticed he was only using one ski and carrying the broken one. I was only slightly better than him even with my full complement of skis

 

[cyberknight]

Bunny hopped a badger when it ran between my wheels once, fark knows how i stayed upright and i didn't hang about to see if the badger was ok as i have heard they are not the most docile of animals .

 

[ColinJ]

No point in retyping these so I'll quote them instead ...

I went out on my mountain bike one time and was descending a muddy bridleway at speed when I rode into a deep rut. I started singing to myself "I'm in a rut, I gotta get out of it, out of it, out of it..."

My happy little song was brought to an abrupt stop, as was my bike, when the rut suddenly came a dead end.

I was launched over the bars so violently that I landed on my feet and was able to continue running down the hillside until I could safely stop. My bike was completely undamaged too!

On another occasion I chased another mountain bike rider into a deep dip filled with water. He ploughed straight through but I hit an underwater pothole or boulder, shot high into the air, did a complete back-flip and landed in a pile of mud between two huge boulders. If I'd landed on one of them I'd have been badly hurt. As it was I was still in a right mess - I looked like The Creature from the Black Lagoon!

Howls of laughter came from the hillside to my left. A group of mountain bikers were sat up there eating their lunch. "Do it again!" "Brilliant - top marks for style!" "I think you've got a spot of mud on your face, mate!" and so on...

 

[Cavalol]

Rode to Halfords for a part for my car, on the way home riding past a pub on a cycle path I thought I heard someone shout me. Turned to look at the pub beer garden and suddenly saw a sort of black shadow in the corner of my right eye. That would have been a lamp post then and I rode straight into it. Howls of laughter from the pub, I just did that 'straight back on, don't look at them and ride off like it was nothing' bit. 50 yards further on, out of view and I'm doubled over in pain on a bench, almost in tears.

 

[Fab Foodie]

WNBR London. Singing Happy Birthday to the Queen outside Buckingham Palace....

 

[Pat "5mph"]

My saddle bolt sheered off on the Ride 100 a few years back, I had to do 5 miles with a seat post only

I did that last winter, only 4 miles though.
Surprised myself that I could do it, must have been the fear of being late for work ... it was quite icy too

 

[Alan O]

Not very funny for me at the time, but I was on my MTB through some woods and entered a boardwalk section. Then looked up to read a sign nailed to a tree... "Caution, slippery surface"

The crash broke my derailleur hanger and I had to walk ~5 miles home.