Road riding falls

[yellow]

I voted sideways slide, but it was really something inbetween tip over and slide.

One fall on my road bike (countless on the mtn bike). I was at the bottom of a hill and in too low of a gear. Started to mash, hit some gravel, and slid out sideways. I wasn't going very fast, but it wasn't a tip over.

[maillotpois]

Every which way but loose...?

I've probably had 5 falls, only one of them a low speed tip over and due more to inattention than a clipless issue as I'd been riding cliplesson a MTB for 4 years by then. Here are the other ones I can remember, roughly in order:

1. 2002 - Rode into a pole at the Tahoe century whil so captivated by the singing and poetry of the person I was riding with (a dear friend and TNT honoree) that I failed to notice the ONLY ONE of the darned poles they left in the bike path. Endo'ed and almost landed on my feet.

2. 2002 - Touched a wheel on Silverade at about 24 mph in a tight pack. I've touched wheels a bunch of times, and this is my only fall - due probably to complete exhaustion, dehydration, inability to recover (it was high 90's and we'd sone about 95 miles of a Death Ride training ride. Bent bars, scraped up. Nothing serious.

3. 2005 - Rode into a ditch in the midst of an 85 miler in sideways driving rain on Hwy. 1. Again probably due to exhaustion, inability to recover. Maybe I just wanted a nap. It was nice soft grass!! No injury or bike damage.

4. 2005 - coaching Tucson race (El Tour de Tucson for TNT - the only one I really do as a race). NEVER AGAIN. At mile ONE, Newbie rider crashed right in front of me as he shrieked like a little girl and locked his brakes trying to avoid that SCARY water bottle that rolled across the road. I could have avoided the water bottle but not the 200 pound cylist. I went down, hard and ended up DNF-ing that race after about 40 miles because my back was killing me. That one was the hardest recovery - for months my back hurt on climbs. No bike damage.

I think that's it. My husband jokes that I crash a lot - I really don't - I just crash dramatically. Seems like most are due to pushing myself so hard that I am beyond my ability to recover from silly things.

For 5 years of serious riding (3000 - 6000 miles per year), that pretty good I think.

[Lise]

I'm going to take the risk of jinxing myself here.

If I wipe out in my tri next week, we'll know the real cause, won't we?

OK.

I have not fallen off my bike since high school. I had two falls, both riding whatever cheap, skinny tired bike I had back then. (It was the 70s) One was a wipe out on ice on the way to school. I arrived all scraped up under my jeans. I guess it was probably early spring, with patches of ice still on the streets. I took a corner and .... down! The other was riding to work at a small bookstore, where I'd be the only employee in that day. Again, skinny tired bike. Rutted dirt path. Tire went one way, I went the other. Landed on the left side of my face. Nobody wore helmets back then, come to think of it. I was a mess, and I went to work anyway, tried to clean myself up as best I could. I can't remember how I got home. The bike was OK. Maybe I even rode home. I ended up needing derm treatment for infections on my face from the dirt. I've got three small scars to prove it.

I've had a couple of near misses with the clip ins, but have always gotten out in time.

Sooo...how to vote? That's one sideways slide and one over the bars.