Have you had any strange incidents while cycling?

[Paulson]

Today I did a 41 miler in the cold.  Now that my fingers have enough feeling in them to type, I thought I'd relate a slightly strange thing that happened this morning, and ask you if you've had anything similar.

I was riding in North Suffolk, in the middle of nowhere, when I saw a lady riding towards me on a horse.  She was some way off.  Next thing I saw was another horse, sans rider, running some way in front of her, quite fast.  A car driver had just passed me and he pulled over, as did I.  The riderless horse freaked as it drew level with the car, and passed it very slowly.  The woman on the horse then rode past and told the driver that her son had fallen off the horse, and could he go and check that he was ok.  I wheeled my bike well out of the way of the riderless horse, which then came past me at full gallop (or whatever they call it).  I'm wary of beasts that weigh over a ton and have a brain the size of a pigeon.  The lady then raced past me shouting biblical oaths at the wayward creature, which by this time had disappeared over the horizon.

As I and the car driver passed the hapless lad who had parted company with his horse, he was clearly fine and was observing the incident from the verge with his mate.

But I began to think as I rode onwards, should I have tried to coax the horse and grab its reins?  I guess I was the only person actually in front of it at the time.  What would you have done?  And has anyone else happened upon a bizarre unfolding incident while cycling?

[Jaded]

I'd say that if you knew the horse and were familiar with handling horses like that yes.
Otherwise get the other side of the hedge fast!

[jogler]

What would you have done? 

I would have rang Rowdy Yates to get the 'oss & Gil Favour to calm & reasure the ex-jockey that the good guys always win-out on Rawhide.

[rogerzilla]

On a CTC run a couple of years ago we found a herd of Friesian cows blocking the road.  Some of the less cowed (boom-tish) members, including a farmer's son, decided to have a go at chasing them back into the field.  The cows were remarkably unswayed by the waving of arms and shouting and just stood there looking stupid.

Eventually the farmer showed up and the cows immediately trotted back home with minimal fuss.  They obviously know who has an account at the local slaughterhouse.

[giropaul]

I've caght several loose horses over the years (and come 3rd to one in a bunch finish near Wolverhampton!). In the area I ride in it's not an unusual thing to have a horse that has ditched its rider. Usually there is a bit of gratitude, though on one occasion they ignored me entirely and just grabbed the horse!

In the last year I've also helped put an escaped bull back where he ought to be, and had several sheep re-homing incidents. Perhaps it's where I live and ride.

And that's just the livestock related incidents!

[border-rider]

I've rounded up sheep a few times (last year an old lady and I got about 100 back into their field off a lane near Hay) and the odd cow, but I'd be wary of trying to acquire the halter of half a tonne of  runaway horse...

[jogler]

I've rounded up sheep a few times

that's a very brave comment to put into print in a place such as this

[Ray 6701]

I've grabbed the reins of a horse that had ditched it's rider & bolted before now.  Clearly instinctive as if I'd had time to think about it I would have jumped over the hedge as per Jaded's advice 

[Rhys W]

Been in a road race that was disrupted by a herd of cows. I was in a small group off the back and we just went past them, both us and them going rather quickly. Not the best option in retrospect.

Also seen a girl galloping along on an out of control horse, followed by her mother in a land rover, shouting for it to stop.

Our club run was once joined by a dog, who ran alongside us on the pavement, clearly having the time of his life. We went right at a roundabout, dog went straight on, realised his mistake and chased to get back on. He finally gave up about two miles later, no idea if he got back home. The dog got a mention in the club dinner that year.

Was out one sunny Saturday morning, a group of about 12-15 in the first "shorts" ride of the spring. I saw a massive doberman bounding along along a drive at high speed, salivating at the thought of the myriad of meaty calves he was about to sink his teeth into. I was at the back of the bunch, anticipating a massive pile-up at the very least. Before I could shout a warning, the dog entered the road just as a car came round the corner. There was such a loud bang I was certain the dog was dead (no sympathy though - if he'd have got to us there would have been carnage). But I saw him get up and limp back up the drive... a better illustration of the phrase "tail between its legs" I could not imagine. What I could imagine though, was the large dog-shaped dent in the passenger door...

[toekneep]

On tour in the Yorkshire Dales last year we were following the same route as the travellers heading for the Appleby Horse Fair. As we approached a caravan with a few people leading other horses they turned off right in front of us. The caravan driver took it too sharp and dropped a wheel down into the verge. The woman riding up front with the reins was thrown spectacularly to the ground and the horse freaked and took off. We only hung around to see the woman back on her feet, apparently unharmed, while a chap sprinted off down the road after the runaway caravan. God knows what happened, he didn't look much like he was gaining on it.

[giropaul]

Rhys W has reminded me of a race on Cannock Chase where a herd or deer went through the bunch, causing mayhem. A sensible commissaire (Johny Burton I think) neutralised the race whilst the pelaton re-assembled - with comments such as "Oh dear""fawning attention""bit of a stag do" "I'm having a fallow time of it" etc etc.

[Euan Uzami]

I was once descending a hill pretty fast in wales, but a massive flock of sheep suddenly came out of a field onto the road, they were completely filling the road from left to right and there was no way past them. Having slammed on the brakes and just about managed to slow down to crawling pace without careering into them, I at this point wondered where the farmer was. I looked round to realise the flock of sheep blocking the way in front of me was actually only half of the flock of sheep, and the other half had now come out of the field behind me, completely blocking the road behind me. So I was stuck in the middle of the flock of sheep. The farmer was behind them, on a quad, shouting obscenities about how I was a 'f**king nutter' and  'bloody cyclists think they own the road', but the sheep were actually fine - it was almost like they'd accepted me as one of them  and i could only escape when they had gone into their field

[Canardly]

I thought that was going to be the start of a rather good local ghost story still nevermind.......

[Basil]

I can often hear farting behind me.  When I look round, there's no-one there.

[jogler]

I can often hear farting behind me.  When I look round, there's no-one there.

PMSL
ROFLMAO
  unto 

[Marj]

I can often hear farting behind me.  When I look round, there's no-one there.

PMSL
ROFLMAO
  unto  

Are you sure you 2 are not genetically linked  

[rogerzilla]

One of our number once had an epileptic fit (of the total confusion, calling everyone "Susan" and trembling sort, not thrashing around on the ground).  It turned out that only the ride leader knew about the guy's condition, but as we'd just climbed a big hill and the ride leader is nearly 80, he was nowhere to be seen.  So I called an ambulance, not knowing this would pass (what I did know was that the guy had had a brain tumour removed a few years previous, had a big piece of his skull missing and also has Parkinson's).

It must have been a slow day at Benson, because they sent the helicopter 

[Paulson]

Thanks everyone so far.  It would seem that, as I expected, my Saturday morning excitements could reasonably be placed into the box marked 'interesting but mundane'.  That comforts me in a strange way.

But keep them coming!

[Rig of Jarkness]

We got a bit of a start when touring in Denmark a few years ago.  We were riding along a deserted road through an apparently deserted landscape of dunes and small roadside bushes.  As we drew level with one of the bushes we suddenly became aware that it was watching us - they weren't bushes at all, they were crouching, heavily camouflaged members of the armed forces.  Quite unsettling !

[Rhys W]

This story would be more entertaining if you'd stopped for a "natural break". 

[Deano]

I was riding home a few years ago, and saw another cyclist walking his bike up the road while scanning the verge, so I stopped to ask if he needed any help.

"Oh no," he replied "I thought I saw a dead [insert name of rare bird], and I was going to take it home as my friend's a taxidermist and he can stuff it for me."

Me "OK..."  *rides away carefully*

[giropaul]

That reminds me of a true story.

A group of us were cycling back from the cafe one day, when we came across a recently car-hit pheasant - dead but otherwise intact.

One of our group picked it up and tied it to his bike.

One of our group was, shall we say, rather gullible. "Why are you doing that?" he asked. "I thought if I got it to the vet quickly it might be ok". "Oh, good idea, do you think it will be?" says gullible one!

[MercuryKev]

I stumbled across this when I was out last summer:



It was in Fife though and I distinctly remember hearing banjos in the distance

[bobb]

I've found quite a few well thumbed jazz mags in the country lanes of Essex, if that counts?

Actually, you said "Strange" so scratch that...

[CAMRAMan]

Actually, you said "Strange" so scratch that...

Depends on the genre. Some German stuff can be "interesting"...

I wasn't exactly out cycling, but I was doing my paper round on a bike one afternoon in the mid-70s when a woman comes running out of her house screaming her head off. I was second on the scene and it turned out that her daughter had just collapsed dead after spraying her hair with hairspray. It made the national papers, IIRC. I suspect she was sniffing with hindsight, but I'll never forget that mother's screams.