OK, but no one has discussed the segment issue. If you recalculate at the last known split location, you end up with one ride for each of 2 segments. Do you stop at the same place during the second ride and report 2 rides of each segment?
As for danger while riding with the handle bar turned 180°, it's not hard to go slow, stick to the sidewalk or side of the road, walk through traffic infested intersections or just walk the bike. The idea is to make the counter go backwards. It doesn't have to end up exactly at the last recorded reading, just close enough to make manually spinning the wheel less time consuming.