What dangers did you not realize until they happened to you?

[Robse]

56 minutes ago, earthtwin said:

@Robse and @Poker I didn't get hurt at all, just scared by the bright flashes above my head. Maybe my wheels high voltage was attracting lightening? and then my wheel and me protected from injury by the rubber tire? I don't know, but I wasn't injured and my wheel is fine.

Just because you are isolated from the ground (Rubber tire) won't protect you from lightning at all.  The current will seek through you if its a direct hit.  The only thing that can protect is to sit inside a metal enclosure ( a car )  where the current can pass around you via the metal enclosure.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

 

[Cerbera]

I just got back from a ride where I had a very close encounter with an adult deer, and then later a fox, both of them in the ride path initially. Slowed right down, spoke nicely to them, and allowed them to calmly vacate the path, which they both helpfully did...

Also extra things to avoid on the cycle path today - from overgrowing thorny bastards to any old shit people feel the need to throw out of their cars as they go down the A3 - today - a bedside cabinet !

 

[ursi]

8 hours ago, Robse said:

The danger of my KS16X deluxe seat doing tricky tricks with where i touch the wheel with the side of my legs.  It cost me a close contact with the asphalt due to a completely uncontrollable downhill wobble.

Ah yes, I also had a very bad speed wobble when transition to going down a hill once. Luckily I barely managed to keep it together. But yes, going down hills makes your wheel more prone to wobbling. Definitely a good fact to keep in mind when pushing your limits.

Edited August 21, 2023 by ursi

[Clem604]

2 hours ago, ursi said:

 going down hills makes your wheel more prone to wobbling. Definitely a good fact to keep in mind when pushing your limits.

Yep, I found this out first hand by eating shit at around 60km/h down a steep hill. I also realized that my tire was pumped up to high that also lead to the crash 

[mrelwood]

On 8/21/2023 at 12:35 AM, Cerbera said:

old shit people

Come on man, that's not very nice!

[Flygonial]

Invasive boars in Texas have ended up even on trails in metro areas. There’s this stretch through the end of Terry Hershey where boars and deers can get spooked and run in front of the trail at night. The trail is all but deserted at night, so a friend got comfortable doing 30 down it and had no time to react when a boar came up.

Whenever we take that route again, we try to stay below 20 mph and at one point I came within yards of striking a boar. I would have probably struck it were I going faster.

I’d say we should stop taking that trail but it’s the only real alternative on that route to not riding roads that sometimes go up to 45.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Flygonial

[Planemo]

Having ridden pushbikes, motorcycles and driven cars for umpteen years theres not much I haven't come across but the other day I had a new one - a wasp in my helmet. Never happened before because the only time I wear an 'airy' full face helmet is on the EUC or downhill MTB (which is rare). I saw the wasp just before it entered my helmet near the ear, I was doing about 30mph. I tried to stay calm and just get my helmet off asap which was massively helped by the easy fidlock magnetic buckle. OK it wouldn't have been a crash-inducing event but very unpleasant as I suffer badly from all insect stings!

[Cyberwolf]

On 8/19/2023 at 3:46 PM, Cerbera said:

when I hit the first one of these pretty fast, and was comprehensively bounced off my pedals...

^A similar issue has provided the only real "Oh Shit!" moment I've had so far (even with a few good tumbles and various close-calls which I haven't had time to write about yet), and another thing to watch out for...

Namely - I was practicing jumps while going over "speed control" bumps, and after a few 'low & slow' runs without issue, decided to push a bit further and was totally not expecting one of my feet to come right off the pedal - despite being "locked-in" - and start merrily going it's own way into the night away from the wheel - at about 15-20mph and a respectable vertical distance from pavement!

Ignoring that my heart seemed to be located a few inches higher than it had been previously (an exceedingly rare occurrence for me), I managed to get my leg back with foot-on-pedal and locked back in before landing! 

A few deep breaths later, and another jump or two semed to indicate that the solution (not sure if best, but seems to work) was to make sure going into the jump (and just prior) - to relax any 'cross-knee' or 'cross-shin' grip and shift to more of a "cross-ankle" grip.  Figured that biomechanically, it's similar to using climbing hooks and having them "gaff-out" due to knee placement...

Edited August 26, 2023 by Cyberwolf

[Mono]

8 hours ago, Cyberwolf said:

and shift to more of a "cross-ankle" grip

Ankle gripping is what Kuji pads are made for. They are the only pads I use . Indeed, I think they are a nice safety feature in general for people who don't like the restriction of the shin movement from regular pads.

[skunkmonkey]

1. Transitioning to different terrain ie: pavement to grass or gravel is trickier than you’d think.

2. EUCs are like land based sails on the wind, so crosswinds are brutal.

3. It’s obvious in retrospect, but I never considered the difficulty in self-mounting on a hill until I ended up there.

4. I didn’t realize how addicting this sport was, and that put my pocketbook in danger, and consequently myself in danger from my wife.

[Circuitmage]

IMHO, all the pedestrian, traffic, cars, obstacles are things you should be aware of if you have any kind of motorcycle riding experience. I can't believe all the 2 wheel scooter riders I see riding around town assuming they have right or way to run stop signs or blaze through traffic without looking. Those people are called future statistical fatalities.

The things specific to EUC's I have seen are;
1) Pedal clipping.
2) Sidewalk issues (now that I am riding on sidewalks more). A lot of construction/debris, parked cars on the sidewalk, etc,  you have to watch out for. Almost rode up on a downed telephone pole in the dark once.
3) Large drainage grates in the middle of the road (my 18" wheel can make it over, but not a 16").
4) sticks that get caught up inside the wheel
5) Mud/Loose gravel. The worst surface for me.

Oh, and don't walk large dogs on an EUC, that was just stupid of me.
 

[bpong]

pretty simple stuff.

got bumped off twice at 40+kph,  due to small but deep pot holes in the bike lane.  after the second time, i decided to add pads to my wheel to keep my feet on the pedals.

the only other major thing to watch out for is pedestrians stepping onto the bike lane and not realizing there is bike lane traffic.  my very very very loud japanese bike bell handles the warning easily.   the last thing im abit cautious about is riding beside the transit buses in lanes where i can only either ride beside them or behind them - never in front of them until i get a faster wheel.   thanx for the interesting topic !

[atdlzpae]

That a "shallow" puddle of water can actually be a pretty deep hole.

 

[bpong]

the shallow puddle warning reminds me of the typical old looney tunes site gags....