What's the scariest thing happen to you on a bike (not involving a driver)?

1. First corner on a new bike I'd just removed from a bike box. Turned the handlebars, but the front wheel remained pointing stubbornly forwards as the untightened stem spun freely around the steerer tube.

2. Not my scare, but on an 18 year old Greek lads' holiday (Greek holiday, not Greek lads) we decided to hire bikes and cycle over the hills to visit some hot springs (as you do in 35 degree heat). After a long, fast descent my mate complained it had felt a bit wobbly. I reached down and closed the quick-release lever on his front wheel.         

Age 17 cycling to work (on the road), downhill so had a reasonable amount of speed. There was a group of teenagers on the pavement ahead of me.

A dog being walked on the same section of pavement growled at the teenagers and one of them jumped into the road immediately in front of me. Somehow managed to swerve round her, not sure how I didn't hit her.

Squirrel that managed to run between the wheels on a fast descent, any contact would have been fatal for said squirrel and likely have put me in hospital.

A couple of years ago I had an OTB moment at high speed on my MTB due to a dozy dog owner letting her lab run off the lead (we'll gloss over the fact it was ground nesting bird season and there were signs everywhere asking them to keep dogs on leads). Owner: "Oh, I'm really sorry, he chases bikes and won't come when called".

If I'd hit it I'd have killed it, as it was I was really lucky to get away with cuts and bruises. Looking at my bars and brakes I clearly went fully over, not out of the side door. Couldn't move for what felt like ages but probably only a couple of minutes. Owner just sauntered off after her dog after she'd checked I could move.

Many, many years ago I had the front wheel of my Grifter work loose, also on a steep hill. No helmets of course, I had a bus behind me and missed hitting my head on the kerb by inches based on where I ended up. It was on that lovely pink chipseal they used in the '70s. Bruised and grazed from head to toe.

Many (many!) years ago teenage-me took a ride to Hastings, entering the town from the East, at just about terminal velocity down the steep hill towards the sea front, and with an artic on my shoulder for most of the descent. All good. However a few minutes later the front light bracket (ah, Ever Ready lights) decided to detach itself from my front fork and spin into my front wheel, bringing matters to a rather abrupt halt. Luckily I was going slowly through the light-controlled junction in the centre of town at that point, and so no real harm done. But cycling home back up the aforementioned hill, it did occur to me that things would have become, um, messy, if the bracket had let go on my way down! Needless to say, the bracket never went back onto the fork.

Reading through these colourful anecdotes and trying to think, in 50 years of riding bicycles if I had ever had a truly scarey moment, a proper heart in the mouth fearing for life and limb story that didn't involve an asshat driving a motor vehicle badly or inconsiderately and I'm genuinely coming up with nothing.

I was riding in the leafy Essex lanes early morning last year, near High Easter, when a gigantic pack of hunting dogs came out of nowhere, headed by a couple of blokes with what looked like cricket bats in their hands incase they got out of hand. I slowed to a stop.
The hounds were covering the narrow lane possibly 6 abreast, rushing round the bend like a canine river.

I was a really concerned that they would attack me; luckily I hadn't brought any dog biscuits or other food or I might have been a goner!

They passed on, and I continued my journey, admittedly slightly shaken but with another story to tell.

A number of very large cows each full of bovine malice just loitering in the road. Not a thought for other road users as I whizzed around an Ashdown Forest bend. The solution was of course the best bunny hop I've ever done onto the grass verge. Sadly the verge was in fact a sea of mud and, with the wholly predictable but somehow unforseen change in traction, I ended a rather soggy heap. Still no one else was there to bear witness and I don't think it's on my Strava stat's so perhaps it never actually happened despite the indelible grubby mark on the left shoulder of my then days old winter top.

Morning ride in Mallorca with a mate. Riding on a via verde we hit a 2% downhill, going about 30-35km/h. Then a sheep jumps across the road from out of a hedge, had probably gotten out of some paddock somewhere. Luckily it didn't stop, because we would not have been able to. I managed to grab both brakes and lock the wheels up, but then we were past.

No harm done, but that was too close for comfort.

Local  Wednesday evening 10 mile TT on a closed course, this August,  about 8 miles in when a pheasant flew out, saw me at last moment and flew along seemingly between my front wheel and bottom bracket.  I was on the TT bars and convinced it was going to end in a crash, flew for what seemed an age it did a sharp left turn and disappeared into the bushes, leaving me somewhat flustered but thankfull!

On my way to work in Chesterfield I was riding down the long hill into the town at about 60 km/h when I went over a bump and the steering on my bike seemed to stiffen up a bit.

I didn't think much about it until I got to work, when lifting my bike up by the bars to put in the bike rack the forks fell off amongst a shower of small ball bearings - the steerer tube had snapped. On examination it looked as if it had been held together for the rest of the ride by a small strip of metal which had finally given way when I picked the bike up.

For me it was when my rear rim exploded in traffic, the tube deflated and the tyre came off. It was bad enough to nearly crash at 20mph-ish with cars whizzing past but when I saw the rim had split at the joint and then along the brake wear line and could have speared me in the leg as the wheel spun around I felt sick.

The rim wasn't even 50% worn so even though it was probably the combination of a cheap rim, Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tours pumped up very hard and my excess weight it was the last rim brake bike I ever bought.

I was on a winter ride downtown, and had put pogies on my single speed bike that had only a front brake, activated from the left bar. As I approached a T junction from its branch, with stop signs for all three directions, I signalled to turn left, which meant pulling my left hand out of the pogie. A car was also approaching from my right.

Then I went to brake, immediately realizing that my brake lever was inside the pogie, whereas my hand, needed to pull it, was inconveniently outside of the pogie. I thought for sure I was going to T-bone the car.

Luckily I was going slowly enough and had sufficient traction that I managed to execute a U turn before the intersection, which also scrubbed off 80% of my speed. I was eventually able to un-suction-cup my sphincter from the saddle.

I ordered an additional brake for that bike the next day. I've also learned that I can brake without putting my hand back inside the pogie, but my reactive brain did not have time to experiment with that while it was happening.

This was in the US, so only one brake is required, although two is smart for obvious reasons. Also to visualize the equivalent situation in the UK, switch left and right in all cases.

I've shared before my cycling on a flood plain. This next example is also idiocy on my part.

Idiocy one, left my rather crap bike outside and uncovered on one of coldest nights of the year. I got home from work late and was just interested in a cuppa

Idiocy two, the next morning, around 5:30, I get on said bike without thinking anything of the freezing weather.

Idiocy three, I managed to get a mile from home before I realised my brakes were frozen... unfortunately I realised this approaching a junction. In hindsight, I should have just thrown my self to the ground but I swung out whilst desperately signalling "slow down". Traffic was light, I was lit up like a Xmas tree and the one motorist probably thought I was dick, but was able to keep clear.