I'm officially a cyclist!

I have had my bike for exactly 2 days................. and I fell for the 1st time today! I am in the straps for right now, the bike shop owner wants me to get used to the bike before going to clipless pedals. So, I strapped in for the 1st time and got my left foot stuck! I was turning around and couldn't pull the left foot out in time and fell on the road! I am bloody!!!!!!!!!! Luckily I was near my house and was able to limp back home! As soon as the bleeding stops, I am going back out. I have about 30 minutes of riding to finish!

Just wanted to let you know...........I am officially a real cyclist! haha!

Kim in TN

Sorry to hear about your fall.....I bought a new road bike but put the clipless on right away....I was nervous but they were not tight enough that a quick kick wouldn't release them if I needed out quickly.

Hope you are ok and good for you that your not letting your little accident discourage you.

Cindy

thank you! I am ok....a little bruised and sore, but ok. My pride hurts a lot! haha!

My face looks the worst. My bottom lip took a good scraping all the way down my chin and my sun glasses cut the bridge of my nose. So, I am sure I will be made fun of at Church this morning! Oh well, that's ok. My left knee is pretty scraped up, too-- and sore. But my hands are what are killing me right now! I had ordered some great gel gloves that will be in Monday, so I was going without gloves this weekend..........huge mistake!

It's a lesson learned about going too fast, getting too comfortable too quickly and not paying attention! I know I will have lots of spills in my cycling career.......I am training for road racing! So, I might as well learn to lick my wounds and move on, huh?

If I can get the pictures to download, I will post them....I look hysterical! I have a picture of my bike, though and will try to post it here.

Kim in TN

I had the straps at first and just kept them really, really loose. So sorry you fell!! I switched over to the Speedplay clipless pedals after a couple of months -- much better. :D

The shop owner wants me to get used to riding before putting me in clipless. I had the straps too tight, obviously! Lesson learned!

What do you think about wearing knee pads until I get used to the turning and being strapped in? After yesterday, I want to wear long pants, long sleeves, pads on everything........

I am in paaaaaaaaain!

Kim in TN

I also think it's best to get very comfortable with the bike before going to clipless. I had a bad experience (falling about 7 times) with Look clipless pedals & then switched to the Speedplay & they felt sooo easy after trying the Looks. I wear a 6.5 to 7 shoe & from what everyone has told me here & elsewhere, it helps to have longer feet (i.e., more leverage) for a lot of people with the Look pedal systems.

Anyway, if you want to wear pads on your knees, wear them! Do what makes you feel most comfortable on the bike. I'm not sure how that will feel as far as comfort while riding goes because I've never tried it. Just make sure you get back out there and not become scared of your bike. I was getting pretty antsy about riding mine when I was falling so much in the Look pedals & I didn't want to fear my bike.

Anyway, good luck to you -- I'm sure things will get better! :)

I am going to try to ride in the morning before taking the kids to school. I am a little aprehensive, to tell the truth! It will be fine, though. As soon as I get back out there, I'll stop being scared! I have to take the bike back to the bike shop tomorrow to have the computer installed. He'll laugh at me when he sees my face! It is funny, if I do say so myself! But, I could go the rest of my life without doing this again, and I'd be ok!

Thanks for the encouragement!

Kim

You're welcome Kim. :) I've just turned 42 (Friday) and have a daughter in college & a son who is 13. I was really thinking, "Man, I'm too old to be falling on my behind in front of the neighbors all the time!" LOL For me, as I've gotten older, things seem to intimidate me much more than when I was younger as far as adventurous activities go. I've just decided my bike is my way to get over it. I just keep getting on. I'm doing an MS150 ride on September 20 & 21st!! Getting excited about that!

Good luck to you! :)

Actually this is more of a rant directed at well-meaning, but misguided, shop owners and employees.

After years of working in shops, teaching cycling clinics, and observing new riders, I decided to start selling clipless pedals to new riders with the bike purchase.

Why? Because I think they are safer than those god-awful clip-and-straps ("cages") so oftern foisted on beginners. If someone is morally (or financially) opposed to going clipless right away, I usually suggest they ride around on plain-old falt pedals until they are comfortable with the bike.

If clips and straps are used correctly they need to be tight enough to hold the shoe so that the rider is secure on the bike and has the mechanical advantage when pulling up on the stroke. This also means that the rider needs to be comfortable enough on the bike that she can reach down and loosen the straps before coming to a stop. Hmmmm, how many beginners can do that?

Usually the new rider rides with the cages just loose enough to be ineffective, and just tight enough to be dangerous. There is no real advantage, it's difficult to get the foot in (how many times have you witnessed a new rider riding on the "wrong" side of a pedal with cages?) and when crashing the rider is hopelessly trapped. I have seen some pretty nasty knee injuries over the years due to the odd knee-angle produced by these falls.

Starting out with clips-and-straps will actually lengthen the amount of time it takes a beginner to adapt to clipless. Why? By riding in clips-and-straps the rider trains her brain to pull BACK and out when coming to a stop. With clipless the motion is a simple twist of the ankle OUTward. Generally it takes a while to un-learn the old behaviors first.

I have a personal theory that crusty old bike shop guys put beginners through this hell as some sort of a hazing ritual ;)

OK rant off.

This also means that the rider needs to be comfortable enough on the bike that she can reach down and loosen the straps before coming to a stop. Hmmmm, how many beginners can do that?

LOL -- this beginner still feels wobbly reaching for the water bottle. :D

Okay, I could go with this as long as you don't put women with small feet in those #@^! Look pedal systems. Give them something they can get out of easily like the Speedplays. I did not have enough leverage to get my foot out of the Looks. I have not had problem 1 with getting out of the Speedplays. My confidence would have been a whole lot better with the clipless system without going through the Look issues.

And by the way, I had the cage & straps before & kept them completely loose -- no way was I getting stuck & no way could I loosen the straps while riding -- too busy hanging on for dear life. I think shops have a hard time remembering what it feels like to be a beginner & should have beginner workshops to help with simple bike maintenance (changing tires, oiling chains, etc.) and there should be clubs that cater somewhat to the beginning rider. We sure don't have them here. They advertise 14-16 mph and it means 16-18mph.

I agree with pedalfaster too. When I got my road bike I started off straight away with clipless pedal ( They were Looks and after loads of grief I finally switched to Speedplay which I love, but that's another story). Flat pedals or toe-clips weren't even suggested to me so I just went along with it.

I agree that you might as well start as you mean to go - ie with clipless, otherwise you'll have to spend time re-learning when you switch from toe-clips to clipless.

Maybe you should look into getting some Speedplays - they're VERY easy to get out of, just a simple twist. You don't have to use any force and there's no fumbling with straps. Since I started using them last year I don't think I've ever had problems getting out of them - even when my legs have felt totally dead.

Initially you might not feel fully confident having both your feet clipped in place - I must admit as a beginner the idea of being attached to my bike was a bit scarry, but what bothered me the most wasn't the fact I was clipped in, it was that I couldn't clip out. When I switched to Speedplays the whole issue disappeared as clipping out was never a problem and it made me a much more confident.:)

Just my ramblings.... :)