Our very own humiliation/embarassment thread

[Pax]

My first organized road ride, I'm all decked out in my spandex with a nice light bike with a computer...I get dropped by an old man in work pants and button front shirt on a single speed bike.

[SadieKate]

I know I've had plenty but I seem to have conveniently forgotten them. Now, hubby's humiliating moments I can tell in excruciating detail.

I'll have to ponder, but then I'll start having nightmares about them.

[Dianyla]

I guess I just don't find getting passed/dropped to be an embarrassment (because I'm really used to it! ).

However, probably the most embarrassing moment I can recall was when I was in 7th grade. I used to do a 10 mile loop every day after school on my Pink Peugeot (with pink helmet, and pink jersey). At some point, I developed a crush on a boy whose house happened to be along that route.

Yep, you all can see this coming can't you? He's standing out in his front yard. Me... riding along... slowing down to casually make eye contact with him and say hi. Right as I say "Hi" I just dropped flat over on one side from lack of momentum.

[bcipam]

Cyclesutra - very funny!

I like most have way too many stories and embarassing moments. Probably my worst: About 20 years ago the RAAM ride was starting from Huntington Beach, CA. I rode my bike over to watch the start. There were thousands of folks lining Main Street waiting for the start. I was riding down Main Street when I heard my name... I turned to see who was calling... also turned my handlbars and yes you know the rest, WHOOP! over the bars, splat onto the ground in front of thousands and TV cameras to boot. My friend slowly turn and walked into the crowd to embarass to help me. Nice huh?

Sad thing I was really hurt but I had to get up, laugh it off, get back on the bike and ride away, face flaming red. Niiiiiiiiicccceeeee!

PS: My entire left side was black and blue for weeks. Thankfully I didn't break anything... that's an whole other story to tell!!!!

[mikki]

Okay, so I've got this thing about undeniable access to my feet. My hubby says I'll get more power from being clipped in. Sounds great, I'm all for creating some speed. So he puts one of his rat-traps on one pedal, with the theory being that I'll get used to one, then add two, then go clipless. After about two weeks, I asked him to add the second. He's not thrilled about the idea, but once I get a bee in my bonnet..... So we set out for a ride together. Me with two cages. In my own driveway, gravel no less,... one foot in.... two feet in.... one cyclist on the ground laughing. Yep, I bit it in my own driveway. Didn't get five whole feet. Lesson- momentum is required prior to entering both cages. Needless to say, hubby removed said offending appendages as I attended to the road rash. Okay, not so much road as rash. Apparently I hit my head in the process (new helmet) and skinned both knees. Will try clips again when I feel braver and have health insurance.

[Trekhawk]

When I first got my bike I had no idea that people didnt go clipless straight away. So off I go (much to the horror of my husband) clipped in with really not much of an idea about changing gears (hmm husband tried telling me but I was like yeh yeh how hard can it be).

Well I head down the street and decide it might be easier to go right instead of left at the corner and proceed up a pretty steep hill. Im sure you all know what happened from here. Bike starts to slow I change down a gear except its not down but up and the bike comes to a complete stop. I start to topple and only that my husband set my pedals for easy release am I not getting up close and personel with the road.

Im horrifed at this stage and hope no one has seen and then I hear it "are you ok dear" I turn and there is an older lady in her garden. I say yes thankyou and try to make some sort of dignified exit from this hill.

Two weeks later we get invited to a fourth of July party up the street and Im chatting to a neighbour about how I have started cycling when I hear this voice " so been up the hill lately" . OMG its the lady from the hill she apparently knows all my neighbours and explains how she saw me fall the other day while she was gardening and knew I must be new as I didnt really seem to know what I was doing.

I decided from that days things could only get better - but I still hate that hill.

[salsabike]

On bikeforums it was called "the humbling thread" and it was incredibly funny. I learned some interesting things about my husband's embarrassing bike moments...

When I first started riding I had a very heavy bike. I was stopped at a stoplight with both feet on the ground, lost a firm grip on the bike, it fell to one side, and knocked me down. Thus, I fell over in front of many cars while at a dead stop. My, my--Dork City.

I fell three times in one ride trying to learn how to stop with one foot still clipped in (I can do it now--but I have a few knee scars I didn't have before). The last time I bent the derailleur and couldn't get it unbent, so limped into a nearby business, called a cab, and got a pinch flat on the way home because the cabbie bungeed my bike in his trunk and squashed a tire in the process.