Worst Mistakes?

[Edgemaster]

What have people's worst mistakes been on challenges (any sort, full, alternative), or in daily tube use?
What has made you go "I can't believe I'm so stupid?"

To start us off, I believe on one R15, I was attempting the Warwick Avenue - Royal Oak run... Only to somehow end up at Paddington (Praed St)!

[RichieG]

Getting lost between Aldgate and Aldgate East the first time I attempted it...

... then leaving Aldgate East by the wrong exit and getting lost between there and Aldgate the second time I attempted it...

On this year's Zone 1, not staying hydrated enough to find myself at Earl's Court wandering around aimlessly looking for the sub-surface platforms for about ten minutes before being approached by a very concerned-looking member of staff who gave me a bottle of water and told me to sit down for a bit... yet somehow, I didn't come in last despite being there for about half an hour

[palkanetoijala31]

Mine was running from sloane square to knightsbridge ending up in fulham i think.?

[perkyperky]

Running from Aldgate to Aldgate East and ending up back at Aldgate, but not realising it until we were actually through the barriers! And then said barriers would not let us out again.

[RichieG]

Running from Aldgate to Aldgate East and ending up back at Aldgate, but not realising it until we were actually through the barriers! And then said barriers would not let us out again.

I bow to your superiority

[JoeGJ1984]

I also got lost running from Aldgate to Aldgate East in the 2010 zone 1 (last year, not this year ). I then nearly made an 'unforced error' by going to the eastbound instead of the westbound platform! When the indicator (an old-fashioned black glass box) lit up with the destination, I realised my error and went to the other platform. Luckily, no train passed me on the opposite platform before I realised, so it didn't actually delay me at all.

[Garion]

Telling my class in school I knew how to get to Euston from Hammersmith and went to take them to the westbound platforms at Hammersmith instead of the eastbound...

[jamesthegill]

The last time I did a zone 1, changing at Gloucester Road we barged our way into the lift and stood by the opposite door. This didn't open at the sub surface platforms, the exit being the same doors we used to get in, so subsequently we were at the back and chased a District line train out of the platform. Had we made this we would've run from Aldgate East to Aldgate and had a selection of trains to go to Liverpool St on; instead we ran the opposite way, had the choice of the next H&C train out (which wasn't showing on the board at all) or getting the District line train back to Tower Hill and going anti clockwise round the Circle from there.

[Root]

I was trying to do an All-Lines challenge starting from Farringdon once. I waited for the three sub-surface lines to align nicely, then jumped on a train. Went one stop and realised I'd forgot to start my stopwatch. Went back and tried again. Then, somehow, I did exactly the same thing a second time. I gave up at that point...

[Going Underground]

During an evening bottle with The Beer Baron we were attempting to run from Warren Street to Euston Square but took the wrong road and ended up Goodge Street. We got the Northen line to back to Warren Street again and this time ran past Euston Square as it was boarded up for maintenance and saw mainline Euston across the road
We then ran back to Euston Square and completed our challenege still finishing 2nd

I have made several "schoolboy" errors and another one that springs to mind was an evening Z1 again with The Beer Baron and also Londongirl, we changed from National rail to the Viccie line at Vauxhall intending to go North but the next station we pulled into was Stockwell...
I was about to compound the problem and go "cross" platform as a train was there to get the Victoria line back before Catherine quickly called me back saying that of course this was a Southbound Northern Line train and next stop would have been Clapham North

[Dr Who]

Doing a Tube Challenge of any knid with Soup Dragon.

[Going Underground]

Doing a Tube Challenge of any knid with Soup Dragon.

Especially Cannon Street Run on "talk like a Pirate day" when he thinks he is Johnny Depp as Cap'n Jack Sparrow...

[barrykas]

Trying to do the shortcut at Piccadilly Circus to change from the Piccadilly to the Southbound Bakerloo...only to realise said shortcut only applies if you're changing to the Northbound Bakerloo and having to lead a dozen people against the flow to get to the Southbound.

Doing Euston - King's Cross St Pancras on the Victoria Line, changing for the Northern and ending up back at Euston is always a fun one.

Cheers,

Barry

[Starkey7]

My most silly mistake (which became a whole sequence of mistakes) happened not on a challenge, but on a trip from Ealing Common to Ealing Broadway - which due to my silly choices ended up taking nearly an hour.

Details on request.

[nozzacook]

first change on a full network attempt Amersham start run round at chalfont for the waiting train got on which I assumed was going to chesham. Ended up back in Amersham. so had to restart.