smart falling?

[Trek420]

Tuckerville,

Glad you're ok, those poles always scare me. It'll be "see the pole, ride smack right into the pole" for me.

Yes, the trampoline's a great idea, get used to the feel of falling.

Falls happen and you can't "think through them". If you practice falling it may just be part of your body memorie.

Velogirl told me (hope you don't mind my quoting you VG) that her racers do falling drills with a handlebar.

Just the handlebar, not the whole bike

I presume this is to get the idea of keeping your hands in front of you not out stopping the fall.

That's very much a martial arts way of teaching falling. In Aikido that is one of the things we stress, keep your hands in front of you. If you can see your hands, they are not out stopping your motion.

Velogirl (Lorri) also told me that instinctivly those sliding type falls we don't want road rash and may instinctivly move in a way that the fall is sudden. But road rash heals gals, those sudden type falls are where internal injury occurs.

Best to tuck and roll if you have a nanosecond to choose.

But things happen so fast you can't think through it so....wear your helmets, err on the side of caution TE gals.