They say you never forget...

[theredhead]

...how to ride a bike.

Moving into the big world of having your feet attached to your pedals, however, is a whole 'nother experience.

Sunday, after a satisfying bike ride, I was inspired (or perhaps possessed...) to stop by the bike shop and pick up all the fun items so I can bike to work. Clipless pedals, the shoes with the cleats, bike pants, yadda. This afternoon at lunch I took my bike over to have all my nifty new toys installed & get a lesson on my new system.

The guy at the shop was very nice, and carefully explained how to clip & unclip. Adjusted everything to make it easier. Held me up while a practiced the moves. Told me 'everyone falls, even experienced bikers'. We have quite a few of those folks around here.

He then encouraged me to take a spin around the shop (inside) and try it out. He carefully reminded me of the basics - unclip before I want to stop, rest foot on top of pedal, brake gently, stop completely, and put the unclipped foot down.

Intellectually, the whole thing made perfect sense. I practiced while stationary, I nodded, I smiled, I was good to go.

Off I went on my test ride. Initially it was a little weird to have my feet lashed to my pedals, but I caught on pretty quick. 'round and 'round I went. So far, so good.

Then came the moment of truth – time to stop. I planned it out, unclipped my left foot, rested that foot on top of pedal, braked gently, stopped completely… and tried to put my foot down. Apparently on autopilot I am right footed. The one which was still clipped to the pedal. This didn’t work out so well as I fell over to the right.

As I went through that slow motion moment I had enough time to think “!!!” and say ‘Wrong foot!’ before I crashed to the ground. Niiiiice. It was a really smooth move. Let me tell you, the textured floor in the shop isn’t any softer than the pavement in the parking lot.

I’m now the proud owner of a bloody knee to pay my public humiliation dues. It’s like being back in grade school, with a scrape the size of my palm and the extra large sized band-aid on the boney part right below my knee. It’s going to color up nicely in the next few days. I also managed to sprain my ankle trying to yank my foot off the pedal as I fell.

I gave myself brownie points for not swearing, as there were children in the shop. I managed to restrain myself to a few Oww!s and a bit of furtive limping.

The guys at the shop were nice enough to wait until I left to laugh. They must have a lot of practice hiding their amusement from the patrons. My mom had no such compunctions, and had a good giggle when I related my adventures.

I declined to bike after work this evening.

-the redhead-

[Beverly]

I'm sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you will be able to laugh about it soon. But until then, elevate your knee and ankle and I recommend retail therapy. Go on line and buy a couple of orchids, you'll feel better.
Beverly

[theredhead]

Thanks Beverly

I was laughing about it by the time I picked myself up off the ground.

I knew I was going to pay my dues on this one, but was hoping it would take more than 5 minutes.

-the redhead-

[Gin]

That is a visual !
I thought you were going to say you took out a display .
Hope knee heals quick and it will with a couple of new plants Gin

[camille1585]

I know it's not funny for you, but that is a very funny story! Well told too! I hope your battle wounds heal quickly, so you can get back on the bike.
My dad changed his bikes like that when he started to get serious about race riding. I won't tell you the number of times that he fell in the beginning because he forgot to unclip his foot! He really regretted having changed the pedals on all 3 of his bikes at once, so had no choice but to learn the reflexes.
Did you get ones of those little computers that you rig up to the wheel to measure your speed? Those are too awesome!

[Grandma M]

Sorry to hear of your accident. Hope you are doing well now.

My stepson is a Bike Freak. He can't understand how I got to be so old without ever having a ride on a bike. A bike ride would be lots of fun but......... I prefer to keep all my bones unbroken, and in good condition.

Marilyn

[LauraN]

I love your story, and I must say, it is very well written!

[Amanda L]

I'm sorry that you got hurt! At least, now you know to unhook the right foot! Very well told story, I laughed at the "wrong foot" comment. That is something I would have said. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to stop the stream of swear words that would have come flying out of my mouth on impact though, kudos for that! Hope your knee and ankle heal soon! Buy 2 or 10 orchids and get some rest!

Camille, I have one of those little computers you are talking about! They are so cool. Tells you your speed, how long you have traveled and the amount of miles you put on your bike! I love mine!

[flhiker]

Lesson learned. Hope this doesn't stop you from riding in the future! It will become second nature after awhile. I've been riding both mountain bike and road riding for years. I've done MANY stupid things from banging my knee on the handle bars to getting air lifted out of Grand Canyon mountain bike/Frisbee golf park in Brooksville Fl. I still love to ride, I just don't do the tuff stuff anymore. Get Well soon.