The Joy of Falling

[KatieBelle]

I had a fun Sunday. I rode 15 miles on my mountain bike (a new PR). Then I went road bike shopping. Of course I fell in love with the most expensive one I tried (Trek Pilot 5.0). I managed to fall over while test riding one bike (Giant OCR C3) and bruised my left leg and knee nicely. Of course, my first thought was "Did I scratch the bike? Is the bike okay?" I was not ready to take that bike home with me. No scratch on the bike, my knee on the other hand . . .not so lucky. Then last night I took the big plunge and installed clipless pedals on my bike. My first attempt to unclip and stop was successful. Unfortunately, I put my weight on the side that was not unclipped and I fell like a tree in the woods. Timber! Lucky for me because the concrete of the driveway broke my fall. So there I am laying on my side in a huge puddle of water caused by the neighbor's sprinkler system with my bike on top of me laughing hysterically as my kids are yelling "Mommy are you okay?" My dad said "Maybe we should go get your helmet" which of course I had forgotten to put on. I got up and tried again several times, learning my lesson from the first time. I did not fall again. It was so fun to have my girls running down the sidewalk next to me while I pedaled in the street and then my attempting to stop as they coached me. My 4 year old kept yelling "Take out the foot that you are going to fall on!" It was a great night. (And I now have a huge welt and bruise on my um back side to show for it!)

[seagrape]

I loved the role reversal, with the image of your kids running down the driveway coaxing you on!

Have fun and ride well...

[caligurl]

way to go, katie!

[bikerchick68]

ya know.. that is a story you'll laugh about for the rest of your life no doubt... made me smile imagining it... especially your little ones coaching you on how to do it right...

[MomOnBike]

Katie, that is a story that is guaranteed to get better with the telling. Thanks for sharing.

It reminds me of an OT story: Many years ago on the night of a concert I was washing dishes and managed to slice a pretty big hole in my thumb (the scar is ~1 inch). Blood everywhere. We patched me up as best we could, got into concert dress, & drove to the ER. As I was wrestling my bass out the front door my 4YO daughter piped up, "Don't bleed on your bass, Mommy!" Children. Priorities. Children with Priorities.

Anyway, I got the thumb sewn back together and played the concert. It was...uncomfortable. Musicians.

[CorsairMac]

I Loved the line "take out the foot that you're going to fall on"!! We'll have to remember to use that here for future newbie clipless riders!! Just Too Precious!

[KSH]

Too funny! Thank goodness you could laugh at yourself!

I too fell over when testing a bike. I couldn't get my foot out of the toe clip material (?)... and it was the side that I was leaning on. BAM! Hit the ground... like you said... "TIMBER".

I didn't leave that shop with those pedals. I knew right then and there that I was going clipless from day one.

[snpdragn]

Ah see... this makes me want to avoid clipless. I can fall walking. I trip over my own feet. Clipless might be a huge adjustment... though I had been thinking of starting with them so I'd be used to them quicker.

[Nanci]

No, snp, don't be afraid! You'll understand what everyone says once you go clipless, that you'd never go back.

I had the best fall the other day. Riding old MTB with road tires, starting out in the grass in my yard, just stepped on the pedal to get started but my clips are so easy, I was clipped in without trying, but was in too low a gear to go anywhere. Couldn't unclip before TIIIMMMBBBBEEERRRR!!!!!! It's so funny- you _know_ you're going down, and it happens in slow motion, and I had the luxury of knowing it wasn't going to hurt that badly in grass. I'm laying there, still clipped in, laughing and laughing. Luckily, no one saw me!

After a couple falls, though, uncliping comes naturally, and if you do fall, it's just a fluke, like what happened to me. Totally avoidable if I'd been paying attention.

Nanci

[latelatebloomer]

"Take out the foot you're going to fall on" is classic! I'll be chanting it the day I go clipless!

There's a great line from an Ann Lamont book - she's learning to skate, I think, and falls. Her preschool son said "Momma, sometimes you have to get back up on your hind legs and try again."

[RTP1031]

I did the same thing, except... when I went to clipless I somehow managed to only fall in front of my coach and only in the street. A couple of weeks ago the winds were gusty and I unclipped as we were stopping, then a gust of wind hit the bike and "timber" over I went to the other side. No harm done and off we went again, no injuries except a shredded ego. It's just a matter of practice. But once you go clipless, you'll never go back.