Like the title might suggest, it was pure stupidity on my part. Mower is a late 90's John Deere GX85 rear engine mower I got from a late ex-coworker's estate sale. I've owned it about 5 years now, but lately have actually had a decent sized lawn to mow with it (approx 1.5 acres).
I have fairly hilly terrain, not too bad for the mower, but the edge of my property goes up a steep bank where it meets the road in front. My string trimmer died, so I could no longer weed-whack that area, so I thought to try it with the mower. It did surprisingly well--- one half I could do sideways by putting my weight on side of the mower facing the hill. Worked fine, but the other half, one tire would just spin (I had to use all my weight on one side to keep the thing from tipping), so I had to go about it by mowing UP the steep hill. That worked great for about 2/3 of that section until the tires started spinning again before the mower crested the bank and reached the road. Rear engine mowers are surprisingly stable I found out... until I stupidly put my weight over the rear tires in an attempt to give them more grip. It worked great until physics took over and sent me and the mower flying backwards, the mower tipping literally front end over back-end. Luckily I went one way, the mower the other. Think I was banged up more than the mower, because my tailbone hurt for a few days, the mower (after choking itself out with oil) started right back up and drove me back to the house. It didn't even break any of the cheap plastic, which was already well worn, being a 20+ year old mower.
I bought a new string trimmer not long after. Curious to see what stupid things you all have done on mowers. I'm fairly sure I'm not the only one who's learned a lesson riding one.
I have fairly hilly terrain, not too bad for the mower, but the edge of my property goes up a steep bank where it meets the road in front. My string trimmer died, so I could no longer weed-whack that area, so I thought to try it with the mower. It did surprisingly well--- one half I could do sideways by putting my weight on side of the mower facing the hill. Worked fine, but the other half, one tire would just spin (I had to use all my weight on one side to keep the thing from tipping), so I had to go about it by mowing UP the steep hill. That worked great for about 2/3 of that section until the tires started spinning again before the mower crested the bank and reached the road. Rear engine mowers are surprisingly stable I found out... until I stupidly put my weight over the rear tires in an attempt to give them more grip. It worked great until physics took over and sent me and the mower flying backwards, the mower tipping literally front end over back-end. Luckily I went one way, the mower the other. Think I was banged up more than the mower, because my tailbone hurt for a few days, the mower (after choking itself out with oil) started right back up and drove me back to the house. It didn't even break any of the cheap plastic, which was already well worn, being a 20+ year old mower.
I bought a new string trimmer not long after. Curious to see what stupid things you all have done on mowers. I'm fairly sure I'm not the only one who's learned a lesson riding one.