falling over

[sansmail]

so...today was the first time I clipped in...only my left foot...and still managed to fall over :( thank goodness for helmets, I'd probably be in the hospital if I hadn't been wearing one...gonna be black and blue and stiff and sore in the morning.

[ny biker]

Yeah I did that last year. And I've been using clipless pedals since 2003. Welcome to the club!

[OakLeaf]

It happens. Hope you feel better soon!

If you fell on your helmet, it needs to be replaced. Probably an expense you don't need, but cheaper than a head injury.

[chicagogal]

It happens. Hope you feel better soon!

If you fell on your helmet, it needs to be replaced. Probably an expense you don't need, but cheaper than a head injury.

Yup, I concur.

[yankiwi]

+1 on the need to replace your helmet (even if it doesn't "look" like it needs to be replaced, it still does).
And sorry to read of your fall; hope you heal quickly :-)

[Bruised&Happy]

I totally understand your pain! I've been riding since the middle of July and have fallen over twice. Almost fell this morning when the bf stopped suddenly. :eek: I was balancing at a near stop, trying to unclip, couldn't, and managed to get around him without falling! Yay!

Hope you feel better soon! Now start clipping in both shoes! :)

[MrsHulley]

Good you're trying.... Haven't got the guts for that one just yet. I'm sure I'll be in your shoes soon.....

[sundial]

If you're going to fall, make it count. :) Now you get to go helmet shopping. ;)

[sansmail]

I will commence helmet shopping this weekend.

I haven't had this many black and blue places since I was a kid...a long, long time ago :D

Went to the chiropractor yesterday and got everything put back where it belongs.

[azfiddle]

Hang in there- it gets easier. I managed to fall over 3 weeks in a row, which kept removing the scab from my knee. Hopefully it won't happen again. You might try practicing on grass- it's much more forgiving!

[marni]

next time make sure you fall over in a parking lot, or at a stop sign so every one can giggle and point and you will feel stupid and clumsy, but you will get up and get going and life will be dull ever after. Still falling on occasion after all these years. Me myself, I prefer to fall over backwards from a full body stretch in the middle of the gym in full view of the spin class, the weight lifters and the treadmillers- My *** will be black and blue tomorrow and it hurts to sit. Fortunately I will spend tomorrow on flat on my face with my tata dangling through a hole while they perform a needle biopsy.

And tomorrow is looking like such a beautiful day to ride too.

marni

[FionaBrava]

Yep, pretty much the same thing happened to me the other day. I just got hybrid pedals so I can still ride even if I don't want to clip in. I've only ridden the parking lot, so if I ride to work and make it back okay tomorrow without falling into a truck or car I will consider myself a lucky person!

[warneral]

i did it about 4 times this year when I got my road bike with clipless. hang in there!

[Pascale]

I thankfully got used to being clipped in on my road bike, but i'm absolutey terrified to even TRY doing it on my mtb - I have pedals that I can either clip in or flip around and ride flat .... I'll have to try some of these suggestions to be able to try using them on the mtb! I'm glad people are always asking questions here!

[colorisnt]

I have been riding in clips for 6 months and I still get nervous. I have really only fallen two times, but they were AWFUL. Oh, that and when I almost was hit by a car a couple of times. To avoid I slammed on the breaks and couldn't unclip. But once, in a really hairy situation, they saved me from flying onto the back of the car in front. I got a bruise and a cut, but I was really thankful for them.

We have ALL been there. So, no feeling ashamed! Just get better at falling - I say that in jest and in reality. Years of horseback riding and jumping a stopper has led me to being REALLY good at being a "good faller". The people in my club back home when I was learning let me know I was doing well at falling. Hey - you gotta be good at something!

Get a sweet new helmet and keep at it! It will get easier. I learned how to be safe in my grandmother's church's parking lot. No one there except me and God. And I couldn't swear without feeling bad, so it kept me cool! Don't rush. No reason to. I still get hurt in the lady bits if I rush too much getting on/off the bike. No bueno.

[sansmail]

ah!! I used to have a borzoi :)

she was a great companion

[sempernova]

You're braver than me!! I still haven't gone there yet!

[marni]

after five years of riding I still have occasional FUC (failure to unclip) incidents like the one today where neither foot unclipped until I was in a cramp legged crouch headed straight for the ground, luckily I got one foot free and landed on one foot hopping forward into the cross traffic. The angels were watching out , there were no cross traffic cars and I pulled myself up and together without a total loss of dignity or major injury although I did whack the front of my upper leg aginst my handlebar (did I mention that I was in a flying monkey ninja super crouch and falling?) and now have a black and blue mark about the size of my hand- it doesn't hurt yet but is a bit swollen and will be colorful for a while.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ok I just gotta say...I'm thrilled to not use clipless at all! ;) :D

[sansmail]

I hadn't looked at my helmet since I fell over...OMG!!!! Not only had it cracked like an egg, there were big pieces of gravel imbedded in it :eek:

Never, ever ride without a helmet!

[marni]

well thank goodness you looked. Helmets are tough but even an accidental drop to the floor can do damage if it lands oddly.

Not only do you have to have a fully functional helmet but you have to fasten it properly so that it sits snugly and firmly on your head a fingers width above your eyebrow.

The two things that make me crazy are the guys on the super expensive bikes, in their super expensive kits, riding like demons along the MUP or road with the straps undone, and the parents who ride with their kids who all have helmets but the parents don't. Even if they are on the sidewalk...

If there is ever any doubt about the value of a helmet, just take a raw egg out to your riding surface, hold it at mid ear level and drop it.

This is your brain without a helmet.

[cervelogirl]

It happens to all of us!
I recently converted from mountain bike clippless pedals to road bike ones. Even though I had been riding with them for 2 years, I still fell over first day with the road bike pedals! :p