I've never ridden a bike in my life until now at age 40. Got hooked on spinning and my tri friends convinced me to take it outside. As of today:
I have had a total of 6 falls (4 of them moving) with 2 nasty cases of road rashes "ruining my fab legs",as a result. 2 sprained fingers that hasn't healed since April, 3 panic attacks at the very sight or sound of a vehichle. I'm extremely fit but need to work more on core strength for balance. Fellow riders call me chicken butt (bad posture) and I can barely make it up the hills in my local park for a 5.75 mile lap. Why do I hang with it? Because it's really true, the more time you spend in the saddle the easier and more skilled you'll become. We'll eventually get over the panic if we learn to "own" our right not only to the bike, but to the road too. By the way, i've found MTN bike pedals work great for a first time newbie trying to clip in. Hang in there.