Share your best and worst transportation stories!!

ChicagoBlue2

ChicagoBlue2

Veteran Traveler
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
12,688
Reaction score
1
I'll start. My best one was when I got home 45 minutes earlier than normal from the Amtrak due to an early arrival. My worst one-- to date-- is nearly hitting two people who weren't paying attention to where they were going, and didn't see me, but I saw them-- with less than a second to stop on my bicycle. Thankfully, no one was injured.

What about you?
 
I have been stupid many times riding bike growing up. I've since matured up. I make sure I wear my helmet every time I ride those days. It helps that I've a nice U of Michigan bike helmet. That makes whole lot difference. I'm no longer embarrassed to wear helmet while riding.
 
dereksbicycles said:
I have been stupid many times riding bike growing up. I've since matured up. I make sure I wear my helmet every time I ride those days. It helps that I've a nice U of Michigan bike helmet. That makes whole lot difference. I'm no longer embarrassed to wear helmet while riding.
Click to expand...

Incidents like the one I went through shows the importance of bicycle helmets. I never ride my bicycle without one.
 
Best, anytime I've ever gotten away with exceeding 100 MPH without getting caught. Worst, the Army transporting me around in a cattle-car about every day for a year crammed in with as many people per square inch they could cramp into there so you had to stand up unable to move or breath and the outside temp was over 100 degress, near 100% humidity (Ozarks area of Missouri) and zero air circulation. Took 30-60 minutes on average one-way.

This is a cattle-car for those of you that don't know and we fit like 70-80 or so people in this..
80-pax.jpg
 
I once drove from Cardiff to St Albans (UK), 155 miles, in under two hours. It was a bright, sunny Christmas Eve and I found what they sometimes call a 'highway hero', someone doing the pace you want. I just followed them about 300 yards behind the entire way and arrived while my surprised parents were still having breakfast. That's the good.

I have innumerable bad stories. The one I'll remember for this thread is when I was going for an interview to get into a very small, highly-regarded program at the University of East Anglia. It should have been simple: train from Liverpool Street to Norwich. The train broke down (as in came to a grinding halt) three times, and we were eventually put onto another train in another station and carried on several hours late, sitting across from a quintessential Essex tart who shouted into her phone while smashing handfuls of potato chips into her face.
 
ChicagoBlue2 said:
I'll start. My best one was when I got home 45 minutes earlier than normal from the Amtrak due to an early arrival. My worst one-- to date-- is nearly hitting two people who weren't paying attention to where they were going, and didn't see me, but I saw them-- with less than a second to stop on my bicycle. Thankfully, no one was injured.

What about you?
Click to expand...

Maybe those two people were deaf and could not hear you coming.
 
My worst transportation story, that's easy, about 10 years ago I was riding my bicycle downhill on the sidewalk. The sidewalk had several dips like so:

figure-4-24.jpg


I was having a blast zipping down and bouncing from those dips to the next until I saw this:

returnrmp.jpg


Note how it doesn't have a smooth transition; it's just concrete poking out at 90 degrees. By the time I saw this I was going pretty fast almost able to keep up with cars going 40mph and I couldn't brake in time nor could I swerve around it.

As you can tell by now I ended up running right into that 90 degree angle concrete barrier and flipped out landing hard. It apparently was a really hard landing because I barely remember anything happening afterward. The only thing I remember afterward is laying on a hospital bed getting stiches done on my hand and face and I had no idea how I got here. It was like a hangover moment.

Somehow a good samaritan saw me and drove me to the hospital thank the lucky stars!

And here's what I looked like, warning if you're squeamish don't look:
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • handsome boy.jpg
    handsome boy.jpg
    15.3 KB · Views: 70
Angel1989 said:
Maybe those two people were deaf and could not hear you coming.
Click to expand...


Actually, no. What happened was that the mother and child, as well as myself, were headed for the exact same spot at the exact same time. Now, I had been stopped because the light was red, but when it turned green, I rang my bell to warn incoming people to watch out, because I can't hear, and I can legally do this. Anyways, the near-collision was at a blind spot, meaning I couldn't see them approaching until it was nearly too late.
 
And my best transportation story, whew that's a tie between my 1st test drive of my future Honda CRX and the 1st weekend I went on a motorcycle ride.
 
A Nihilist said:
My worst transportation story, that's easy, about 10 years ago I was riding my bicycle downhill on the sidewalk. The sidewalk had several dips like so:

figure-4-24.jpg


I was having a blast zipping down and bouncing from those dips to the next until I saw this:

returnrmp.jpg


Note how it doesn't have a smooth transition; it's just concrete poking out at 90 degrees. By the time I saw this I was going pretty fast almost able to keep up with cars going 40mph and I couldn't brake in time nor could I swerve around it.

As you can tell by now I ended up running right into that 90 degree angle concrete barrier and flipped out landing hard. It apparently was a really hard landing because I barely remember anything happening afterward. The only thing I remember afterward is laying on a hospital bed getting stiches done on my hand and face and I had no idea how I got here. It was like a hangover moment.

Somehow a good samaritan saw me and drove me to the hospital thank the lucky stars!

And here's what I looked like, warning if you're squeamish don't look:
attachment.php
Click to expand...



WOW pretty severe looking injuries. Did you have a helmet on? Luckily when my kids were younger and riding bikes, CA had a helmet law for kids under 18 years old. We have some HUGE hills in our subdivision. Kids call the one, "dead mans hill" my son and his friends would go down it all the time.

Hubby and I wear helmets when we go mountain bike riding. Most bones in your body can heal, your brain.....not so much.
Plus my balance is awful now.
 
No helmet but most of my injuries were on the front of my face and right hand so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
 
Angel1989 said:
WOW pretty severe looking injuries. Did you have a helmet on? Luckily when my kids were younger and riding bikes, CA had a helmet law for kids under 18 years old. We have some HUGE hills in our subdivision. Kids call the one, "dead mans hill" my son and his friends would go down it all the time.

Hubby and I wear helmets when we go mountain bike riding. Most bones in your body can heal, your brain.....not so much.
Plus my balance is awful now.
Click to expand...

Palatine, IL has REALLY tough hills for bikers. They WILL give your legs a fine workout.
 
My best, was my dumbest and only done once. At the time we were living in a town outside Las Vegas called Pahrump. Between Pahrump and Vegas is a mountain. Coming down that mountain I went 145 in my srt. I got rid of the car it was way too much fun.
My worse depends on does it count if you were just walking through a cross walk or not?


Sent from my iPad using AllDeaf
 
Years ago damn.......to long now ack getting old
(Lights cigarette, inhales deeply.....exhales smoke int he shape of a runaway train to oblivion)
I was on a via rail train heading to western skies. It was winter. It was cold, it was the prairies I was really drunk. And I was also on couple hits of acid with the boys in coach.
It was all fun. It was fun, and laughs and fun, you could still smoke on via rail then, one thing led to another and one of the rail workers hats we stole ( borrowed) because we were tripped out and wanted to have fun.
(Drags cigarette)
Anyway nature called so I answered went to the gentle mans room to relieve myself........a storm was coming in more to the point our fast train with some deafies all tripped out on acid and drunk was rushing hard long into the storm. It was that smart ass eiesntiens theory of relativity in real deal living form. A moving train, deafies on acid, a canadian winter storm in the prairies, a stolen rail way workers now to think of it very much like a beaver hat, and of course hoichi on the way to the gentleman's room.
It was a walk in the park really..... stupid grin and all. I was half way done .....the toilet was completely frozen, it was cold and canada after all......eh
(Drags cigarette)
But something wasn't right, through all the fast thoughts, the cowboys and bank robers of tripped out young men, of girls, of astronaughts, and fish and......Americans......I forgot to adequately lock the door or secure it.
I'm half way done, felling good and pops open the door......
But...it doesn't end there. No of course not because I'm tripped out so I wasn't thinking and I just turned around. And continued to pee.....yep door opens and hoichi California roll in hand just turned and faced the open door pissing all over the place and by good or bad aim depending on your take, all over the legs of the guy who surprised me.
(Drags cigarette...breaths deep, exhales smoke......)
I haven't been permitted on via rail ever since
Meh
Train gone....................train gone.............those were the days
 
Jezie said:
My best, was my dumbest and only done once. At the time we were living in a town outside Las Vegas called Pahrump. Between Pahrump and Vegas is a mountain. Coming down that mountain I went 145 in my srt. I got rid of the car it was way too much fun.
My worse depends on does it count if you were just walking through a cross walk or not?


Sent from my iPad using AllDeaf
Click to expand...

Any mode of transportation is welcome.
 
Well.....I've had some interesting experience on the astral plane.....
Out of body experiences and such........
K holed with an iguana in Mexico
That was truly weird
 
ChicagoBlue2 said:
Any mode of transportation is welcome.
Click to expand...


Ok. My worst one would be when I was a kid. I grew up in Germany for the most part of my childhood. The German lady who raised me would only allow me to wear these skirts that were like a pillowcase with a ribbon sewn across the top to wrap around you and tie. I fought with that tie all the time. I was old enough to care that it could fall but too young to know how to solve the issue. I was rushing home and it seemed like everyone was out that day. I got to the crosswalk and when I got halfway across the tie gave up and the skirt fell off. To this day I don't wear skirts that could fall.


Sent from my iPad using AllDeaf
 
Back
Top