I had a miserable commute in this morning. I was told by a van driver that I needed to learn how to ride a bike within 3 minutes of leaving home. Then this happened. I was riding along the very busy Bayswater Road quite happily. Suddenly, as I tried to accelerate after a light, my chain completely slipped and I was peddling on air. I completely lost my balance and knew I would crash. By some miracle, I managed to fall right on to the pavement and not the road (there was a taxi very close behind me) and I got away with a few grazes. It was shocking more than anything else and seems to prove to me that you should always have a well-maintained bike if you're messing around on the big roads. I suspect my chain is getting old and it's certainly making a lot of creaking.
Anyway - see what you think as I had my helmet camera on at the time.
6 comments:
Glad you're ok. There was a cyclist killed at the Victoria Park Road roundabout yesterday - be careful! (I can't watch your video, think I would cry.)
I generally have a way out - a plan on where to fall and what to do if it all goes wrong. My dad taught me to do that when driving (always know where I'll go if I need to slam on the brakes / swerve to avoid a baby in the road / what have you) and it works for me cycling, too.
Thanks JJ - I heard about the cyclist at Victoria Park - terrible. It's in tonight's Evening Standard.
And yes - having a plan B is definitely the way ahead. I'll start my planning now!
Glad to hear you're okay.
PS - Saw your video on BikeRadar and recognised your bike then shoe then voice before noticing your user name.
Thanks Lex - well, that's pretty cool! Shows how distinctive a foot can be! It was frightening because of the size of the road and the amount of traffic, but I guess I got away with it. I think I need to ask you a lot of questions about new bikes. What was the brand you recommended again?
Somehow I missed this post. Horrible, and strangely frightening to fall off. Even a near fall when I almost tumbled at some lights (no idea why, just being a bit rubbish) left me quite shaken. Glad you're OK. Be careful out there!
ps. Why do you go on those horrid big roads. My number one priority is to avoid roads with lots of buses and trucks. Even if it slows the journey down a bit, it's still quicker than public transport. Mind you, yesterday, within 10 minutes of leaving my house a taxi pulled into the very narrow bike lane I was in thereby nearly crushing me; and a truck pulled out from the edge of the road with no indication - although to be fair the driver did have his hands full what with the phone and everything...
Thanks Nat - Yes, I take your point about the big roads. I don't know why I use them - I suppose sometimes I feel I need to get somewhere fast ... but you're right, I should try to stick to the smaller ones.
And (grins in slightly painful way) I understand the being squashed by a driver on their phone. I'm amazed by how many still insist on talking into the things ...
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