Strange Accidents while out training?

Sounds like the cyclist was trying to draft.  lol

Last year I was running near my house and was coming up on a curve followed quickly by railroad tracks. I was more focused on looking for traffic than the ground in front of me (or at least that's my excuse). I don't know what made me look down, but suddenly there was this HUGE turtle crossing in front of me. I had to kind of adjust mid stride so my foot didn't come down right on the poor thing. Ended up totally off balance and almost fell into the ditch. Twisted my ankle but the turtle crossed my path unscathed!

I think I must really just zone out when training.... Two years ago on vacation, I was exploring the area on my bike and I was so startled by a deer staring at me that I almost crashed into the ditch and I ended up popping my chain off. It wasn't even moving, just standing on the side of the road staring at me. This was all in front of two guys working in a hayfield... They must have had a good laugh!

Fortunatley, I haven't had any animal incidents this year! Yet.

End of July I bought a new road bike (CR1) and was out on a park path, riding slowly along playing with the shifting... I feel the rear derailleur skip a gear, slow down and start shifting back/forth. At this point I'm doing about 5mph (said on comp) and staring back at the RD. I look up, and lo and behold, the city has decided to cut the pavement up around a manhole.
SMACK. I land (Hard) on my shoulder, break my collarbone in two places and have to have surgery/plate/8screws.
The funny part... my bike needed a new tube, and nothing else, not even scratches on the pedals, that's how slow I was going

I once hit a baby deer while riding my bike.  Im pretty sure the deer was rabid.  I hit it and it just got up, and strolled back into the woods, unscathed.  I, on the other hand.. was hurt pretty bad.  Loads of road rash... bike was fine though...

Squirrels are my nemesis! I hate the little buggers. I ride early morning training rides on a paved mutli-use trail near my house. The squirrels just love to jump out in front of me and then dart back and forth until I get really close to hitting them. At the last second it makes a decision on one way or the other and I just have to hope it's not the same direction I decided to lean. Every time they do this I think there must be a pack of giggling squirrels off in the bushes just laughing thier heads off about almost making me wreck. I haven't hit one yet, but it's been real close. At least the deer, rabbits and snakes I see make some effort to avoid me! Not the pea-brained squirrels though. One day they are going to take me down.

Cycling is pretty big in my area. I've had repeated problems with guys on MT bikes ripping through twisty single track with their headphones on. I'm all for riding hard, racing, ipods and the whole lot, but at some point I wish these people would use some common since where visibility is limited. In the dirt, it helps to be able to hear others approaching. Last time it happened, my wife went head-on with a guy... despite having slowed and pulled to the right...she was OK but it shook her up pretty good.

Some of the birds, crows in particular, but also some pigeons, seem to like to play this game with cyclists in my area of trying to fly either into the front wheel or at your head. I have had several really close calls that left me trying to stop or steer out of a ditch or someones yard. I had an aquantance from work that actually did have a crow fly into his front one morning, he was not going fast and it ended up spoking him like putting a stick in their would. made a big mess too.

I was riding on one of our multi use trails and was going up a hill that led to an overpass when I notice two kids no taller than waist high flying down straight towards me on scooters with their mom behind them on her bike. I slowed way down and almost stopped just in case when the mom slammed into the youngest kid who was right in front of her and they both go flying off the trail into the ditch. I could not believe what I had actually seen. I ran up to them and checked them out. The EMT in me came out and pulled a wrap out of my bag and bandaged the kid up. I could not believe the stupidity of this woman to let a 4 year old and 6 year old ride scooters down a hill where I can get up to almost 40 mph on. Shows how dumb and reckless people can be.

Hope this qualifies in terms of being overall strange.  I used to do a bunch of trail running in Massachusetts near where I grew up. There was one loop that I could never quite finish w/o walking because of some of some real steep hills.  Anyhow, ten years later I went back for a wedding (last October) and I remember to give it another shot.  The hilly section is about 3 miles in.  This time I did it.  So I'm thinking I am finally going to bag this one.  At about mile 4, I roll my ankle.  Bad.  Real Bad.  It's a weekday about 8 AM so there is (nor will there be) anyone around.  Stupid of me and a bad situation, though I did have a cell phone.  But I end up walking the last 2 miles back to my rental car and go straight to the ER.  The Doc basically said I would have ALMOST been better off breaking it.

This past June we (me my wife and son) head back to visit my family.  My wife knows ALL about this trail, but only in the context of my sprain.  To her credit she insists I pack both my regular running shoes and the trail shoes I got in December to hopefully avoid any more injuries.  We get there on a Friday and Saturday morning she tells me to go get it over with.  So I set out. 

I get through the hills, I'm being careful, I'm feeling good.  Then I take a wrong turn and have no idea where I am.  So I finally find my way out with about 2 extra miles and more hills.  And I ran the whole thing.

But in my mind I still have not done the loop.

A few weeks back I was on a morning ride after work. I rode the first 12 miles and did not have one car come up behind me.  All the cars were going in the other direction, most likley heading into work.

I finally came to the "T" in the road and I had to stop for the cars coming.  I had to make a left trun onto the next road.  So I got my left foot out of the pedal and then leaned over to my right.  As I laid there in the road, I thought stupid is this.  I got up and tried to make it look ok, but I know those people driving by were laughing.

Joe

Edited by jeebus2 2009-09-02 9:55 PM

Puppetmaster - I have done that TWICE this summer. Fortunately (?) both times were in my driveway as I arrived home from my ride. I can only wonder what my neighbors think of me...

My fiance and I were out for a 40mile ride down at the shore, and about 15 miles from home, we decide to take a little break and get some water from the Wawa we pass on the way back home.  After the water, we get back on and have to make a left out of the parking lot onto the road.  Both of us clip in, head to the entrance, see a car, unclip one foot, and fall the opposite way, right into each other like dominos.  I look up and see the lady in the car CRACKING up laughing--and seriously, I would have too if I saw what we just did!

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