falling over

[colorisnt]

I have been riding in clips for 6 months and I still get nervous. I have really only fallen two times, but they were AWFUL. Oh, that and when I almost was hit by a car a couple of times. To avoid I slammed on the breaks and couldn't unclip. But once, in a really hairy situation, they saved me from flying onto the back of the car in front. I got a bruise and a cut, but I was really thankful for them.

We have ALL been there. So, no feeling ashamed! Just get better at falling - I say that in jest and in reality. Years of horseback riding and jumping a stopper has led me to being REALLY good at being a "good faller". The people in my club back home when I was learning let me know I was doing well at falling. Hey - you gotta be good at something!

Get a sweet new helmet and keep at it! It will get easier. I learned how to be safe in my grandmother's church's parking lot. No one there except me and God. And I couldn't swear without feeling bad, so it kept me cool! Don't rush. No reason to. I still get hurt in the lady bits if I rush too much getting on/off the bike. No bueno.

[sempernova]

You're braver than me!! I still haven't gone there yet!

[marni]

after five years of riding I still have occasional FUC (failure to unclip) incidents like the one today where neither foot unclipped until I was in a cramp legged crouch headed straight for the ground, luckily I got one foot free and landed on one foot hopping forward into the cross traffic. The angels were watching out , there were no cross traffic cars and I pulled myself up and together without a total loss of dignity or major injury although I did whack the front of my upper leg aginst my handlebar (did I mention that I was in a flying monkey ninja super crouch and falling?) and now have a black and blue mark about the size of my hand- it doesn't hurt yet but is a bit swollen and will be colorful for a while.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ok I just gotta say...I'm thrilled to not use clipless at all!

[sansmail]

I hadn't looked at my helmet since I fell over...OMG!!!! Not only had it cracked like an egg, there were big pieces of gravel imbedded in it

Never, ever ride without a helmet!

[marni]

well thank goodness you looked. Helmets are tough but even an accidental drop to the floor can do damage if it lands oddly.

Not only do you have to have a fully functional helmet but you have to fasten it properly so that it sits snugly and firmly on your head a fingers width above your eyebrow.

The two things that make me crazy are the guys on the super expensive bikes, in their super expensive kits, riding like demons along the MUP or road with the straps undone, and the parents who ride with their kids who all have helmets but the parents don't. Even if they are on the sidewalk...

If there is ever any doubt about the value of a helmet, just take a raw egg out to your riding surface, hold it at mid ear level and drop it.

This is your brain without a helmet.

[cervelogirl]

It happens to all of us!
I recently converted from mountain bike clippless pedals to road bike ones. Even though I had been riding with them for 2 years, I still fell over first day with the road bike pedals!