forgot i was clipped in

[alienator]

I just did it again.

After a short, steep, out-of-the-saddle climb, I had to wait for traffic at the top of the hill. A car stopped to let me turn left. I had my right foot on the ground and my left clipped in, but I didn't have my left pulled up high enough to get a power stroke to start on, and I was still in way-low gear from the climb, so when I put my weight on my left to start it went *thunk* to the bottom of the stroke. Then, there was the slo-mo rrrrrrrrrr-THUD onto the asphalt.

Oh well. At least now I have symmetrical ass-bruises.

Now you're just showing off.

 

[CycleGeek]

Now you're just showing off.

Snort.

 

[shane_riddell]

We have all done it. I know I did more then one time about 20 years ago with my first set of clipless pedals. I had what I think were some Sampson pedals and they were not the easiest of pedals to twist out of. I remember watching my son try out his first clipless pedals, after a little couching from dad. I laughed so hard, he never did crash but he sure did come close.

 

[BanditBoyDavid]

oh yes i did the unforgivable [FONT=&quot]embarrassing[/FONT] stop, lucky for me it was just in a pull in and not at a junction. Forgot i was clipped in...saw the ground coming sideways. Lucky though i only scraped myself and not my bike, although did scuff the left pedal. duh! road rash to my arm and knee, could have been worse though like many people watching etc or even worse traffic.

Question is how many of you have joined me on such an experience of the ground coming to meet you?

please anyone who can make me feel a little less stupid chuckling.

To answer your question simply, EVERYONE has done this before. So don't feel stupid, just get up, brush yourself off, and next, remember that you have to un-clip before you come to a complete stop .

 

[dannomyte]

This should make you feel good... I did it in front of 350 other cyclists at the start of an MS ride. We were waiting in a huge pack for the start gun to go off and when it finally did, the guy in front of me didn't start like I was expecting him to. My front wheel just lightly rubbed his back tire and down I went. I was so embarassed that I got on the bike and rode 74 KMs before I realized my leg had been bleeding quite badly. That was 3 years ago.. hopefully most of them have forgotten now!

 

[roadhouse]

To answer your question simply, EVERYONE has done this before. So don't feel stupid, just get up, brush yourself off, and next, remember that you have to un-clip before you come to a complete stop .

speak for yourself, i've never done that.

 

[stevegreer]

It's never happened to me either. Of course, I don't use clipless pedals.

 

[hod65]

I just bought a new bike (!!) a week ago with my first clipless pedals. I'd heard it said that you fall twice, maybe three times while you're getting used to them, and then never again. Well, one down!!

I was riding on a gravel path, slowed down in a moment of indecision over which way I was going to turn, unclipped my left foot to put it down and then overbalanced to my right. Boom. A little bit of a twisted wrist, a few scrapes and some fairly impressive bruises, but no real damage.

I'm actually fairly pleased about it, in a twisted sort of way. I had just been worrying about falling and remembering a bike accident I had as a kid (face vs. asphalt- not a good scene), and then two minutes later I fell. And it was no big deal. Not particularly painful or scary, just a bit embarrasing. Hardest part was the heartattack I gave to my poor partner, who was riding behind me and had to watch!

never used these things how the hell do you unclip them anyway especialy in an emergency saw so many riders in races on tv just bouncing off the road because they couldnt get them off in time do they really make a big difference to your cycling ...?

 

[SourDieseL]

it's a right of passage - welcome to the club!

hod65 - once you ride clipped in, you'll understand why we do it. the more you ride the more it becomes a natural instinct when rolling into red lights or stop signs. You'll also soon learn to prep yourself and be aware of your actions more so on the bike. The worst I've ever seen is someone struggling on a steep climb realizing they're going to need to unclip and walk up only to have zero momentum to sustain their balance to unclip and fall while rolling backwards.

 

[hod65]

it's a right of passage - welcome to the club!

hod65 - once you ride clipped in, you'll understand why we do it. the more you ride the more it becomes a natural instinct when rolling into red lights or stop signs. You'll also soon learn to prep yourself and be aware of your actions more so on the bike. The worst I've ever seen is someone struggling on a steep climb realizing they're going to need to unclip and walk up only to have zero momentum to sustain their balance to unclip and fall while rolling backwards.

was out today as it was a great day in cork ireland weather wise did 30 miles on way home through cork city heavy traffic just imageing how tough it would be cliped in stoping and starting , if your just starting out in cycling wouldnt be better to avoid useing clips especialy in urban areas as you could come off so easly when stoping and starting ..........

 

[alienator]

was out today as it was a great day in cork ireland weather wise did 30 miles on way home through cork city heavy traffic just imageing how tough it would be cliped in stoping and starting , if your just starting out in cycling wouldnt be better to avoid useing clips especialy in urban areas as you could come off so easly when stoping and starting ..........

People don't come off that easily. Beginners, though, should ride in low traffic areas while they initially get used to clipless pedals.

 

[diromero]

yes! yes! and yes!
I been riding w/ my running sneakers for about 4 months, last week I decided to move on to cleapless. Well, guess what? yes, I went for my 20mile recreational ride right after paying for them. This is what happended:
First red light ok, first stop sign ok, intersection slow down ok, but the fourth red line I unclipped my left foot and stopped BUT all of the sudden I started to lean to my right .... and yes! (again) bloody elbow/knee and huge black and blue on my butt, but here is the best part to this story... my husband quickly helped to get back up before the light turns green and he had unclipped his right foot but not the left. So I got back to my bike and he went down to his left, he was ******! and I just wanted to leave my bike and the shoes in the middle of road. I was so frustrated, firt time w/ those stupid cycling shoes and I was already falling 8(
since then I been panicking to use them or to even ride my bike, I have done 2 more rides (not w/ the groups) around my house which there isn't much traffic or people. I really want to learn how to use them, but Im still very nervous about it...I will keep practicing around my house and keep you posted ...

 

[alienator]

I really want to learn how to use them, but Im still very nervous about it...I will keep practicing around my house and keep you posted ...

You need to practice, practice, and practice in low traffic areas, like in a residential neighborhood or in a parking lot that's not so busy. Your nervousness as a result of your experience so far is just making things harder for you. When you practice, you should endeavor to clip in each time in a deliberate yet relaxed fashion. Don't worry about clipping in quickly. A quote that fits what you should be trying to do is, "Go slow to be fast". That is to say, deliberate and slow motions will be more effective than hurried stabs at the pedals. With this practice, you'll find after a while, you're nervousness will be gone.

Another form of practice to consider is to get on your bike and balance in a doorway or against a wall, and then practice getting in and out of the pedals. This might be an effective approach for you given your current level of anxiety.

 

[diromero]

You need to practice, practice, and practice in low traffic ares, like in a residential neighborhood or in a parking lot that's not so busy. Your nervousness as a result of your experience so far is just making things harder for you. When you practice, you should endeavor to clip in each time in a deliberate yet relaxed fashion. Don't worry about clipping in quickly. A quote that fits what you should be trying to do is, "Go slow to be fast". That is to say, deliberate and slow motions will be more effective than hurried stabs at the pedals. With this practice, you'll find after a while, you're nervous will be gone.

Another form practice to consider is to get on your bike and balance in a doorway or against a wall, and then practice getting in and out of the pedals. This might be an effective approach for you given your current level of anxiety.

Thanks for the advise, Im definitely want to keep trying cause I do notice the difference between my sneakers and my LGs shoes. I climb better and I can go faster and the best part is that my knees don't hurt anymore...

 

[Rback33]

As a newbie, I have enjoyed some good laughs in this thread. I have not bit it... yet... I know it's going to happen at some point. I did have a near miss the other day after a 20 mile ride, the first with my pedals and shoes....I was about to ride home and shower and had a drink in my hand when I saw a friend I wanted to visit with.. I steered over her way at a slow speed only to find that I had a hard time getting out of the pedals because I had the drink in one hand. I was JUST listing over when the right pedal came loose and I was able to save myself the embarrassment of the fall.

 

[Mojo Johnson]

Once you master stopping and starting with clipless pedals, the next frontier is riding on rollers with them. THAT is hard but mastery comes with practice.

 

[KD5NRH]

Try commuting after a surprise 14-hour shift, when you only had a couple hours sleep the night before. Pulled up at a light, something pushed really hard on my right side. Looked over, and it was the pavement.

Fortunately, it was a bit cool, so I was in a tough jacket and jeans, which prevented any road rash, and it was the middle of the night, so nobody was around but it was really embarrassing to do that...



















...wait for it...


















...on platforms. Nothing attaching me to the bike at all; I just forgot to put a foot down.

 

[diromero]

well, it's been about 5 weeks from the first time I used my cleapless. I hava practiced around my house which low traffic and less stops than my group rides. As of today, I haven't had any more falls even though I been really close. Needless to say I still get panic attached when I have to stop and I can't unclip...but I guess I'll get there. I do notice the different between my sneaker and my LG cycling shoes. I can climb with so much more power than before, the problem is when I have to stop or when you weren't planning to stop and you have to ....

 

[64Paramount]

well, it's been about 5 weeks from the first time I used my cleapless. I hava practiced around my house which low traffic and less stops than my group rides. As of today, I haven't had any more falls even though I been really close. Needless to say I still get panic attached when I have to stop and I can't unclip...but I guess I'll get there. I do notice the different between my sneaker and my LG cycling shoes. I can climb with so much more power than before, the problem is when I have to stop or when you weren't planning to stop and you have to ....

I've been using clipless for several years now, and I can unclip very smoothly.

But!

When I ride up on a situation where I'm unsure whether I'll need to stop, I often go ahead and unclip one foot to be prepared. With my SPD-SL pedals and cleats, I can pedal without being clipped in if I need to. Once I'm past the situation then I clip back in.

A typical situation for me would be riding up behind someone walking a dog. There's no telling which way that dog (or the human) is going to go, so I slow down, unclip my left foot, say "bike passing on your left", and then wait to see what happens.

 

[diromero]

ok, so its been 6 weeks after my fall w/ the cleapless pedals - went for a 40 mile ride on sat and ALMOST went pave diving a few times but I was able to cleap out on time .... whooo whoop ....go me 8)
I did noticed that my knee started to hurt after stopping a few times, I guess my tension is set too hard for me. I took my bike for my first tune up and I asked them to release the tensio a bit ... hopefully this help. I think Im starting to like my cycling shoes