First ride

[mtnsnowsnake]

Hi all, I am new to cycling and just wanted to introduce myself. I went on my first ride this weekend and I think I passed the initiation process because, well you guessed it, I wiped out taking a turn too fast. OUCH. I banged myself up pretty good but I think my pride was hurt more! hahah Please tell me most of you experienced riders have fallen a time or two or am I just a clutz. hahaha Anyway, can't wait to get back out there and hope some day to join the rankings of long distance riders. Any advice or tips anyone can give in general for newbies is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lynn

[Irulan]

Originally posted by mtnsnowsnake
Hi all, I am new to cycling and just wanted to introduce myself. I went on my first ride this weekend and I think I passed the initiation process because, well you guessed it, I wiped out taking a turn too fast. OUCH. I banged myself up pretty good but I think my pride was hurt more! hahah Please tell me most of you experienced riders have fallen a time or two or am I just a clutz. hahaha Anyway, can't wait to get back out there and hope some day to join the rankings of long distance riders. Any advice or tips anyone can give in general for newbies is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lynn

Hi lynn... I'm an experienced mountain biker, and I still fall over/ fall down/ tip over/crash and hit things. The trick is just to not get real hurt... :D

The more miles you get under the belt, the easier it wil come to you.

Irulan

[klr]

Hey there,

I too was new (still am really) and yes, I fell three whole times already! All were from a complete stop though, I know - how in the H@#% can that happen? Well, the second time was because I was at a stop light, going up a graded street and I was in too high of a gear and with those special clip pedals, I couldn't get a full rotation to click in with my foot that was on the ground, and down I went! In an intersection, full of people, all looking at me. Talk about humiliation! I got up and acted as though all was cool, smiling and waving to my husband who made it through the light with no problem! The third time was because I always clip out with my right foot, but this time I fell to my left (lost my balance I guess) and again - down I went in an intersection, full of people...etc...The first time I fell was the first time I was on a bike since High School! I clipped my front tire to my husbands back tire crossing a street! Well...he wasn't going fast enough!!

Getting pretty tired of falling, I have now clinched the "how to's" of riding with clip pedals. Thankfullly, I have not fallen "actually riding" with speeds up to 30 mph! I don't know what I'd do then, but it wouldn't be pretty.

I'm sorry to hear about your plight. I hope you aren't too beaten up. Get back out there though because there is nothing like cycling!! And...nothing better for you!

TLC,
klr

[klr]

Sorry gals,

I realized that you are talking about mtn bikes! I don't think I have the guts to play that game - God bless you!

Oh well...
klr

[Dogmama]

Of course you can play on mountain bikes! That's what they're for! My Fisher says "All work and no play is not good at all" on the headset.

Crashing - I crash more frequently on my mountain bike but get hurt less. When I crash on my road bike, it's usually spectacular and hurts a lot more. Road rash...yuk. Yes, I've done the falling over at a stoplight routine. The thing that hurts most is my PRIDE!

[DoubleLori]

I had my first crash where I wasn't stopped, turning around or slowly going up a hill about a month and a half ago. Thankfully I was only going 11mph. I crashed in the dark in an unmarked construction zone where they had just laid down fresh pavement unbeknownst to me, so I hit the new 4" pavement interface at an angle and it knocked the bike out from under me. I am still hurting a bit. It took the road department over a month to fix that bike trap! I am so tired of road construction. It seems they suddenly decided to repave half the roads in the county. The main road that goes by my house is now under construction, so I can't even go for a bike ride without loading up my bike into the car and transporting it through the construction zone, because they won't let bikes ride through the construction zone!

[trekchic]

I posted this the day it happened, but it's funny.......now! so I'll post again!

I fell my 2nd day with the new bike! I was turning around to head back home (was only .10 mile away from the house and forgot the water bottle), and had my left foot stuck in the straps. I was turning to the left, looked down to see why my foot wouldn't come out..........and down I went! I ate some asphalt, too! Tore my knee up, my hands and my face! It was terrible. Learned why you should NEVER leave home without the gloves!

Everyone falls. I have worked at a century and watched lots of people slow down, forget to clip out and fall! Seems stupid, but everyone does it!

Keep riding.........I've been riding about a month and I have only fallen the one time.....but I get to move to the clips next month! So I am sure the falling will increase!

Kim in TN

[mtnsnowsnake]

Tnanks everyone for sharing your stories of that falls that you've had. I realize it probably won't be my last! As I get more experience under me I'm sure I will improve in all areas of cycling. I'll keep you posted as to my progress. I'm still cycling with regular athletic shoes too, so I can't get my feet stuck or have problems with pedals for a while. Some day I will be brave enough to advance to clipless. hahaha

Lynn

[mtnsnowsnake]

HI all,

Well, I went out again this morning (2nd ride)and went farther in the same amount of time as my first ride (and faster) and DIDN'T FALL! There is hope for me yet! hahah Felt great afterwards and can't wait to get out there again this week sometime. Little incremental improvements at a time.

Lynn

[momcat]

You all have falls while doing something: I fell at an organized ride when I the seat got caught in my shorts between the chamois and the back. And then, the sag wagon rolled up with the woman who had crashed, and broken a carbon fiber bike. She had a concussion! I was lucky, I could finish the ride. She had a trip to the e.r. and a trashed bike.

[gretchen]

I"m a new rider (as in ...have the bike, on the trainer...white stuff all over the ground still !) anticipating my first ride with those scarry little tires and feet locked in place! Reading your stories was so refreshing and although i'm sweating now thinking of falling in an intersection (!)...i can't wait to get out there on my new bike! I just keep repeating...twist, pull out, twist, pull out...

[SnowMouse]

But don't you folks have some kid of snow tyres for cycling?

[Irulan]

you can get/ buy/make studded tires, at least for moutnain bikes. "Nokian" is the brand.

Irulan

[Adventure Girl]

Originally posted by Irulan
you can get/ buy/make studded tires, at least for moutnain bikes. "Nokian" is the brand.
Irulan
Irulan:
Do you ride in the snow? I've seen articles in magazines with people with studded tires and I think they're nuts!! Pretty hard core! But I guess it might not hurt as much when you fall... Problem is that you'd probably fall more often.

[gretchen]

You can see how new i am to this...i thought once the snow came...inside you go. I just talked to my daughter and she said that the first race at Uof Michigan is end of Feb. Those of you who live out west...end of Feb. in MI ...there's still "feet!" of snow on the ground. She said one girls' cleats froze in her peddles. Great, now i'll have nightmares about that!
I don't know if i'm ready for snow riding yet! Remember... I'm OLD! and get cold fast, and am a wimp....not to mention I just started this bike thing. (lov'n it though!).
OH, can anyone recommend a good heart monitor, cadence monitor and milage counter all in one?
thanks! gretchen
ps...this is a really really stupid question probably, but, why do they call them "clipless" if there are clips there?

[pedalfaster]

"old-fashioned" cage-type pedals are referred to as "clips and straps". The "clip" part is the hard metal or plastic and the "strap" is the leather or nylon. So when cleated shoes withOUT clips or straps came along, they were called "clipless".


p.s. to Gretchen...ok i now i see you live in the snow! disregard my other post :)

[caligurl]

i fell trying to get out of the driveway.. brand new bike.. NO miles on it.. and i fell... not enough momentum while i was floundering to clip in my other foot... AND... to make it worse.. i had forgotten to put my gloves on.. my hand still hurts.. ouch!

[cathleen]

Hi to all the new ladies!

I'm new here too.

I bit it this past weekend on a paved asphalt bike trail in the park. I was trying to pass a little kid who didn't know the "rules of the road" and was swerving all over the place. I tried to give her a wide berth, and at the last second, she swerved at me. I sacrificed a lot of skin to avoid running into her. :(

I just saw something the other day about falling and it was something along the lines of: "You can't embarass yourself too badly falling on a bike because we have all done the same thing before." Good point, I thought. ;)

[gretchen]

cathleen -
i too had my first wipe out...actually, it was more of a 'slide' but fortunately, when you're not moving in a forward direction, it doesn't involve much skin left behind. Can you believe how helpless you feel?!!! I was just pulling over, actually about to tell my daughter to get off the road while stopping and while i was pulling off onto sand, unclipped on the right, my wheels were grabbed mercilessly by the sand and off to the right. With my left still clipped in, there was nothing to support me and over i went. OUCH!
Caution to everyone...watch out for sand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:( gretchen
ps...not too bad i figure, first fall after 1289 miles on my "new" road bike. :D :D :D

[cathleen]

Gretchen,

Isn't that funny? How you're trying to do something right and ol'gravity just has its fun with you?

Unfortunately, I did the forward skid thing - so, the Portage Bicentennial Trail will always have a little piece of me (my thigh!) in it. :)