wbrye

Fitting clip ons for the first time then inviting wife out for a cycle. The sudden stopping to chat and me forgetting I’m clipped in.......

Lakerat

Assuming nobody is dumb enough to pass you and then turn right in front of you. Me learning that indeed if they do this I have to avoid them because they are in front of me and it is up to me to avoid them.

Trying to wipe a sweat drop off my brow when climbing out of saddle.

big chainring 

In the olden days we rode sew-ups all the fine. Training, racing, goofing around. It becomes habit to wipe your tires if you run over glass. A gloved hand put gently on the top of ​​the tire as you spin along. Front and rear tires, wipe, wipe. I did it so much I didnt even look down. Well one day I run over some glass, take my right hand reaching down behind the bars and feeling for the headtube/front brake and instantly my thumb gets grabbed by the tire, rotates forward, my thumb jammed between the fork crown and the tire. The force of the tire rolling forward kept me from pulling my thumb out. I was on the top of the bars steering with my left hand. I had to release my left hand and grab for the brake lever all while my thumb was stuck between crown and tire. The smell of burning flesh wafted up. I slowy came to a stop. Unjammed my thumb. It was a bubbly black bloody mess. I was about 5-6 miles from home. I rode in a bit of pain. It healed. But dont have a thumb print on that hand.

Flip Flop Rider

it's a great pic

Flip Flop Rider

running into a parked car, twice

rsbob 

I sure hope it wasn't the same car!

bruce19

Selling my MAZA Prestige.

mdarnton

Relatively minor and happened early on: the first and only time I tried to run up a curb with a 30-degree approach. I have no idea now how I could think that would work. It gave me a whole different view of the potentials of road seams, etc.

Riveting

The Madone 2.3 is entry-level yet it's 5-6 lbs. lighter than my flagship bike (that I mistreated) and is always a pleasure to ride outdoors for that reason, though it normally gets relegated as the trainer bike, or in this case the bike my son rides when visiting. Strava shows that I've put almost 13k miles on it, and it still feels (almost) as good as day one.

Lambkin55

As a kid completing my century ride I was pooped. Within 300 yards on my house I was riding with my head down when I ran into a parked camper trailer.

Aerzon

Zoning out while going through a somewhat narrow gate/checkpoint on a biketrail while using a flat bar. Clipped the side of it and went down. Bent or damaged the front derailleur, never got it to stop rubbing the chain and making noise.

subgrade

I have had a fair share of dumb mishaps over the time. Here are some of them that I remember most:

- while still a kid, switching my hands (right hand to left grip and vice versa) while riding. It's a pretty simple trick if you switch the hands while stationary, the brain adapts during the first few seconds - but that is still too long a time while you're on the move. Went down instantly, no real harm done to myself or the bike though.

- running into a parked car. It was raining heavily and I had an overcoat on with a hood that was slightly too large and kept creeping down and obscuring my vision. I was pushing it back up constantly, but this one time as I pushed it up I saw the back of a parked car right in front of me. Hit the trunk lid hard and went sprawling face first into the rear window. Bloodied nose, a few cuts from the glass, bent fork and paid for the repair of the broken window.

- This one is the most recent and the most dumb and dangerous of all - nearly got run over by a truck. It had stopped at an intersection and signalling left turn, I passed it on the right and stopped in front of it. Turns out, the driver changed his mind and went straight ahead, while I was in his blind spot. I escaped very narrowly (the bumper of the truck touched my rear wheel, before I was able to accelerate away from it while it changed the gears). I didn't even realize until moments later that I was maybe a second away from dying. Another lesson learned.

10 Wheels

When I was about 11 or 12 y/o I ran a 4 Way Stop and hit a car in the side as the Car also ran the 4 Way Stop.
The Driver was Shook Up as he was Unclear What had just Happened.

We both left wondering What had Happened.

I and the Car was Not Damaged..

Wattsup

Last year.....pulled the bike out of the garage, hopped on and wheeled out of the driveway and headed down the street, tried to shift, seemed to easy, looked down.....no chain!

burnthesheep

Borrowed BIL's old Trek 1100. It needed a chain and cassette and tires. Did all that. Went to ride with some friends who were actual "riders". I didn't realize the concept of the quick link chain connection. I tried to do the pin thing having no idea what I was doing. Pin came out mid ride and couldn't fix it, had to call for ride home. Also since I was on flats still the pedal whipped around and spanked my leg. Injury added to insult.

move55

riding an inexpensive 10 speed bike with a drop handle on a steep downhill road with a case of beer in my right arm and noticed a manhole construction work ahead with a 6' x 6' square hole in the middle of the intersection with a horizontal cross road where I planed to make a left turn to the party house. the hole was surrounded by wooden stands or barrier painted in faded yellow.