Being stupid (m self)

[slackywacky]

When I was 17, I lived in a small town in the Netherlands, close to a highway. One day, early evening after dark, I decided to take my bike, ride out to the highway, or at least the maintenance roads alongside the highway. I found a farmers field entrance, that had a clean entry way and a chain link fence. I sat down with my back against the fence and locked my bicycle lock through the fence and around my neck. Now this was one of those locks with 3 digits as a code and the dials did not rotate all the way, so I was pretty sure I could open it. I connected both ends and turned the dials, effectively locking me in place.

I sat there for a while and then set the code on the lock to release me. But instead of the lock opening, it did not work. I was pretty sure I did the numbers right, but whatever I did, it did not open. I tried again, staying calm, resetting the lock by pushing the dials all to the one end, and redo the numbers. Again nothing happened. I moved the numbers up a single notch, maybe I was mistaken, but it was no use.

Now I got in a bit of a panic. I was sitting along a highway, some 100 meters away from the road, so nobody would see me from the passing traffic. The maintenance road was a dead-end, so nobody would come there unless they had a reason, and that would not be at night, so I might have to sit there until the next morning. Cell phones did not exist yet, so that was no option either. I kept trying the dial, but no luck, and breaking the lock was impossible without tools. I probably had more chance breaking the chain link fence than the lock.

My parents might get worried, but they had no clue where I was and nobody would assume I was out on this road. I was confident that I would be found, but the question was when. I was not looking forward sitting there all night. Suddenly the lock opened. Until this day I do not know why, I must have put in the right code, but I was sure I did that before. Anyway, I was free. The adrenaline ran through my body and I biked home, feeling relieved.

Lesson to be learned: Even when you think you know it all, something can screw you over. Even if you never know why or what it was.

[MaxRoper]

Self-bondage may sometimes be stupid and dangerous, but it can also teach persistence and patience as well as the benefits of having a backup plan (or three).

Thanks for the story.

[Canuck100]

Just reading your story made me feel a rush of adrenaline! How scary it must have been!

[slackywacky]

Just reading your story made me feel a rush of adrenaline! How scary it must have been!

Frustrated is probably a better word. Yes, scared a bit, but more frustrated with the fact that what I had planned did not work out... the code for the lock not working (or at least not at first).

Greetings from Ottawa, looking out from my hotel over Gatineau/Hull.