First fall

[Iris616]

OUCH!

I took my first fall this morning on my way to work
I tried to avoid some elderly men who were walking and didn't hear me shout that I was on their left. So I hit some gravel and went down hard. It was humbling! Road rash on my leg, twisted knee, sore elbow and gravel in my palm. I'm going for a walk to try to work some of the sore spots out now.

On the bright side: I met the 2 elderly men as they helped me up. They were very kind and friendly. Since I see them frequently on my ride in to work, it makes me happy to have met them!

[F8th637]

Glad to hear you are ok! We've all had our fair shares of spills like that or will some day. Pop some ibuprofen to help with some of the pain to get you through the day. Remember to ice as soon as you can if you think you need it. I'm glad you were able to meet the two gentlemen too.

[Smilie]

Bummer about your fall. I hope they were a LOT of help to you since they didn't hear you. People sometimes are just plain stupid when they hear a bike rider. Half the time the people here just stop and turn around WHERE they are on the path. It is like the idiots in the grocery store who stop in the middle of the aisles, or the doorway to have their conversations.

Get a clue people! Hope your owies heal up quickly, and your knee is not seriously going to bother you.

[NoNo]

Sorry about the fall, but at least they helped you get up. My first fall was on the way to work, too. Go slow with the knee, don't rush anything.

[arielmoon]

Sorry about the fall but glad you are ok. Kudos to you for finding something positive out of the sitaution.

[pardes]

So sorry about your fall. That's the pits. Knocking on wood....I haven't had it happen yet. I'm very cautious but caution alone probably won't protect most of us. Still though, I'm hoping to be the first to never fall.

Wait.....I did fall a few years ago on my beloved mountain bike that met a fiery fate in the house fire. But falling from a mountain bike doesn't count, does it? Isn't that REALLY expected eventually?

As for the new hybrid, both the hybrid and Pardes do not wish to see the contents of the panniers, camera bag, and backpack strewn all over the road.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Iris, nice of you to avoid hitting the old guys.

If you don't any yet, be sure to get some biking gloves- they're for when we skid on our hands over pavement!

[Iris616]

Iris, nice of you to avoid hitting the old guys.

If you don't any yet, be sure to get some biking gloves- they're for when we skid on our hands over pavement!

Funny.. About a mile into my ride yesterday morning I thought, "gee, I really oughta get some gloves, it's getting cold."

So tonite I'm going to the LBS to pick up gloves for me and 5yo DD. She happened to take a nasty fall yesterday too. We had fun comparing road rash and bloody knees. WE came to the conclusion that we are "pretty tough biker chicks!"

[wildhawk]

Glad that you did not get hurt worse - sorry that you took a spill. We ride the 2 mile loop in a park near our house every now and then and there are always people, kids, skaters, elderly, and the kamikaze squirrels to contend with. Plus one jerk who rides extremely fast through there with headphones on. I usually start braking when I yell out “On your left” just in case they react poorly. I especially have had kids get very confused and sometimes they will turn directly into my path. I am currently nursing a road rash elbow - I was stopped at stop sign and leaned too far to the right and literally fell off my bike last weekend. At least you had a legitimate reason for your spill - I was just careless. Hugs and prayers for quick recovery for you!

[TrekTheKaty]

I bought gloves because my hands were getting numb when I first started. However, once I got clipless pedals and fell a few times, I was glad I had them. A friend just wiped out and really tore up his hand--I said, "you need gloves!" Yeah, thanks--very helpful.

[andtckrtoo]

So tonite I'm going to the LBS to pick up gloves for me and 5yo DD. She happened to take a nasty fall yesterday too. We had fun comparing road rash and bloody knees. WE came to the conclusion that we are "pretty tough biker chicks!"

First I wanted to say I'm sorry you biffed it. That is never fun!! I hope your injuries heal quickly.

I had to chuckle at your conversation with your DD5. When I was living in El Paso, my DD was 4, and I used to go mountain biking all the time. As Pardes says, falling is expected, so she got used to me coming home covered in dirt and bleeding (Oh, those were the days!). I bought her a bike about that time, and of course, as a beginner she took a dive and ended up with her fair share of road rash. She cried for a bit, then suddenly wiped her eyes, looked up at me and smiled, "Now I'm a real biker mom, I have road rash!" That's my baby! She's 15 now and mountain bikes and is thinking of cyclocross...