I've had a few embarrassing momements. I think the worst was last July when I went on my first group mtb ride. It was described as a "meander." It was 98 degrees out and half the people had bikes that looked like they were falling apart and they had jeans on. The ride was in a place that I cross country ski in, so I thought it would be OK. Let me tell you, I walked most of it and spent the rest of the time screaming, sweating, and swearing. I was last. The sweep was getting pissed at me. Then, at the end, when we went out on the road to get back to our cars, I thought I would faint trying to ride that mb up a big hill on the road with those little cranks. I didn't get back on my mb until last Sunday.

Then there was the time I crashed going down a 20% grade on my first tour in vermont. It was a little wet out and I was freaked out by the descent. I was screaming, "MY brakes failed," and my husband was yelling at me to just let go of the brakes... I decided to go down instead. I was lying in the road, still clipped in when some people down the road at a historic covered bridge were yelling, "Are you OK?" I was so embarrassed, I got right up and rode off and finished the ride. But the next day i was so sore and bruised, I couldn't do the big climb.
I only fell once from forgetting to unclip, in the middle of a busy intersection with cars all around me. That never happened again. But I have an intense dislike of stops where you come to a little rise and it's hard to start up again. No matter what gear I use, I always get nervous and sometimes drag myself across the road with the foot that's not clipped in. That's embarrassing!