Oops...

[Scimitar]

... I don't think he wanted to do that.
I was letting an elderly (but fit as a flea and experienced cyclist) have a go on my bike today. He was fine, enjoyed the experience and all was going well until he came back into the yard and crashed it.
Turned out he was in the habit of twisting his handgrips as he got off his own bike... of course, this meant as he dismounted, the throttle ran away with the bike, dragging him behind and he landed up on top of the bike after it crashed into the garden wall.
As he lay there in a heap, he asked, "How's the bike?"
"F857 the bike, it's built for that", I replied, "how are you?"
Ah well, no blood was spilled, no bones were broken and I suspect the real casualty was his dignity.

 

[Cyclezee]

Ouch!

I am always a bit nervous about letting others ride my bike and try to get them to ride first with the power off to get the feel of it.
Then, with the power on I suggest gentle use of the throttle at first. The usual facial expression is a huge grin, but if it is one of terror, you have problem, hopefully it won't end in tears or anything worse.

The best advice I can give is to go to a wide open space, away from traffic and other solid objects. However there is not much you can do about solid ground.

Perhaps you should also mention when letting someone ride your pride and joy that they do so at their own risk.

I nearly came a cropper myself yesterday whilst on a ride with a group of cyclists. I was coming up behind a friend at a junction on a cycle route and moved up to ride along side him, at the last second a large bright yellow metal bollard came into sight which had previously been obscured from view. Just in time I hit the brakes and skidded to a halt about 2" from the bollard People behind also had to take evasive action because of my unanticipated stop.

The bollards are on the cycle routes to prevent access to motor vehicles.

 

[flecc]

I still remember the member who for safety reasons wheeled her brand new e-bike to the local park in Hastings for the first ride. She mounted the bike, opened the throttle and immediately crashed into the park's iron gates, falling off, hurting herself and damaging the bike.

There is often a problem with newcomers to e-biking as numerous examples like this show.