My first bicycle crash occurred on Wednesday 26th February 1996 at about 2:30pm as follows.
I was stuck behind a learner driver and decided I would prove to him that bikes are the superior form of transport, with the hope of winning him over to the good side before it was too late. So when we got to a steep hill and there was a break in the oncoming traffic I zoomed down outside the learner and nipped in front of him before the I hit the next car coming the other way. No problem. But then I discovered the road ahead was not as clear as I had hoped. A car had pulled out from a parking space and was blocking my side of the road, but hadn't got all the way out due to traffic on the other side. I jammed on my brakes and headed into the space the car had pulled out of, but I was still on the hill and my brakes weren't going to stop me before I hit the next parked car. I just watched and waited as I got closer, then my front wheel hit the car and my back wheel and I went up and over. I flew stylishly over the handlebars and landed on the bonnet of the car I'd hit. There were a few pedestrians who'd seen the crash which made me deservedly embarrassed. The learner had stopped, the car pulling out had stopped, people were asking after my well-being, and I felt like a complete banana. I told the pedestrians I was okay and shame-facedly got back on my bike and cycled off.
My bike, myself and (unfortunately ;-) ) the car I hit were undamaged, but I'm pretty convinced the incident didn't instil a lot of admiration for the cycling world in the learner I'd been trying to convert. I've taken it as a healthy warning not to show off, and I've sharpened up my brakes.