I always wondered if they did practice falling. Some of them always look so composed during some pile ups, or gnarly crashes in the case of mtb. I have wanted to teach my husband how to fall, but he won't have any part of it. (He falls like a ton of bricks. Any small fall he always gets hurt. We won't discuss the big ones.) He says that's part of it. I can see why you are hesitant to get into the discussion.
I feel you completely on the "curled into a shrimp" aspect of riding. Even though training is out of my reach, I do stretch all of the time.
I was wondering....do you (or anyone else) recommend yoga over pilates or visca versa? Never ventured into either. The new rec-center the University is building is offering both. Will probably only have time for one. Any suggestions?