I really appreciate all the good advice and suggestions.

Switching to plain pedals is a good idea, but DH thinks I am confident enough to stick with these and he thinks I just need to get used to them. I am able to unclip at stop signs etc., but I am still worried about emergencies when I forget that I am clipped in and try to avoid traffic or something. This has not happened yet, but it might!....

Another problem I have is my shorts occassionally get 'hooked' on the nose of the saddle when I am starting off. This has happened to me several times and I try to keep my body really close to the handlebars before I start pedalling. (Does this make sense??!! ) Once this happened when I was trying to cross a busy street and that really freaked me out because I was sorta on my seat, but not quite and almost fell (again!) OOh... and I am also afraid of starting on hills coz I have (another) fear of rolling backwards.. LOL

Yes, I do ride with a good helmet. Another reason why DH thinks my fear of having my head smashed like a pumpkin is unreasonable. Practicing falling sounds like a good idea... but also the scariest thing to try

DH and I do ride the same route repeatedly (whenever he can convince me to get out there!), and I am starting to remember the 'dangerous' spots and turns. Hopefully this will help me be prepared to unclip and be a little more comfortable on my bicycle. However, DH wants to do an organized ride at the end of September, and I don't think I am ready yet to ride with a whole bunch of people or in unfamiliar territories (plus there is a BIG hill to climb on that ride!). I hope I don't sound too whine-y but I am just SCARED!! How long did everyone ride before they went on their first organized ride?

latelatebloomer, you really hit the nail on the head when you said "I know what it's like to ride with tears in your eyes, saying "I'm so scared." This actually happened to me on one ride when I was lagging behind DH and some friends and a creepy guy in a pick up truck slowed down (he was coming in the opposite direction, so he'd passed DH and everyone else) and he gave me the creepiest look. I was afraid he was going to pick me up and throw me in the bed of his truck! I tried calling out to the group but I was breathless and they were too far away to hear me anyway. I was tempted to pull over and cry and hope DH noticed but I sucked it up and kept pedalling anyway. Finally DH noticed that I wasn't keeping up and came to my rescue. So now, he cycles behind me all the time.

Oh well.. there are most of my other fears laid out for now... Thanks again for the wonderful advice everyone.. DH and I will go out for a ride this evening and I will keep you updated on my (hopefully less and less fearful) progress.