The worst feeling on a bike... ever!!

The following was one of my posts on thehubsa.co.za (our cycling forum I spend quite a bit of time on) detailing my "near death experience"... follow the link to check out the replies http://www.thehubsa.co.za/forum/topic/101620-the-worst-feeling-on-a-bike-ever/

Here goes;

I love public holidays, especially those that fall on a Monday. There’s almost no better feeling than watching the Sunday night movie knowing that you don’t have to go to work the next day. What makes it better is if you know that you are going to be on your bike on this Monday morning. The weather was perfect and we headed out to do our normal route in Pretoria East. On our way back we went over the hill on Hans Strijdom Drive and that’s when the fun started. Now, I have to admit that my brakes had not been at their best the last couple of weeks and were feeling a bit dodgy throughout the ride but after I negotiated one of the most technical downhills in the area I reckoned that I had at least enough braking capability to get home safely. This turned out to be untrue...

As I knew I had brake issues I went down the hill on Hans Strijdom slowly, keeping the speed in check and making sure that everything was under my control. I was halfway down the hill when I realised that my speed was no longer in check and that at this point I had absolutely no control. I can honestly say that the worst feeling you can ever have on a bike is going down a hill, grabbing the brakes and... nothing!! At this stage I was in panic mode and the best thing I could think of was using my foot to brake the front wheel. Fellow hubbers, please note: This does not work and only left me with a massive serration in my brand new Sidi’s. The busy intersection was now approaching fast and I had one option... bail! I unclipped my left leg and tried to bring it over the bike... and the rest is a blur. I was lucky; I ended up with a couple of roasties, bruises and stitches in my leg.

Still that moment rings in my mind... that moment when you pull your brake lever repeatedly with absolutely no effect.

Big shout out to Hot Spot Cycles for the great service on my bike less than three weeks ago!