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.