Practice makes perfect, but wrecks are an even better teacher
Ok, I have been riding since the start of summer. I started commuting to school in Sept. I have a few hills that were killing me, so after reading article after article I decided I would like to eventually switch to clipless pedals. I took baby steps though, I started out with toe clip cages. No straps, just wedge your toe in. I rode with these for the next month and a half. I am feeling very confident now. So while at my parents house I show my mom what I want for Christmas. Oh yes they are spd pedals and shoes. My parent have a very big front yard about 300yds off the road with really thick soft grass. The perfect place to practice evey scenario i might encounter while riding to school. No problems in the grass, the driveway was a different matter. I knew there might be time when i have to make a sharp turn, and i wanted to make sure i could clip out in time before i wrecked.....Let's just say i failed miserable. The bike actually stopped, I didn't click out, as I fell down to the ground i fell onto the upturned handlebar right below my sternum, then hit my ribs pretty bad on the handlebars (still not sure how that happened), scrapped my knee and hit the inside of my right thigh. As i hit the ground my first thought was, oh God I can't breathe. I could not inhale, but i knew if i rolled over and stretched out on my back, when i eventually could breathe it would be easier. Somewhere between rolling over, passing out, and waking up, I was happy to realize i could actually breathe. It hurt like all get out. But I got up, suprisingly no one was outside. (my girls would have gotten really upset) and slowly, very slowly made it to the house. My dad, knew something was wrong as i made it up to his shop. After recalling the incident, he made me put my arms over my head and take mutliple deep breaths, after being convinced I only had severly bruised ribs (he is a retired EMT) he actually yelled at me for getting those "stupid" pedals. I had the biggest bruises i have ever had on my stomach, ribs, knee and inside of my thigh. I couldn't even move without grimacing for three weeks. The only thing that did not aggrivate my ribs was riding my bike. The second worst part of the wreck (wreck being the first), was I had a Tennis skills test on Tuesday. I showed my teacher my ribs and other injuries and we modified my serve which is right handed, the same side as the bruised ribs, and I played the rest left handed. I had to take it easy but I got a A on my skill testing. So the lesson here is practice every scenario before you actually start commuting yes you will probably wreck, but you will remember what you did wrong and not repeat it. If i had had this wreck on my commute i would have ended in ditch or even maybe worse. I have yet to wreck on my commute, much to my dad's pleasure. But i am careful. As i go down my steep hill i clip out just in case of a dog or slippery road. And also i clip out as I first see the stop sign, not a few feet from it.
Clipless pedals do make the difference, especially going up hills. And I love mine. But I do not want to have another wreck like the one I had if I can help it. My 40 yr old body does not heal like it used to. Also in the event I did have a wreck I have an old black luggage tag on my handlebars with emergency info. So please practice with those clipless pedals before you hit the open road. If you get a bike shop to install them, they can fix the tension so it is easy to clip out. Then as you get more confident you can increase the tension. I am leaving mine set the way it is. Pain is a great teacher.
