spinoff: share your embarrassing clipless pedal accident stories :)

Second-ever ride with clipless (also took a spill on the first ride at the end of my driveway, but nobody around) so I was already nervous about it happening again, so I was trying to be ulta-cognitive of stop signs, red lights, etc in order to unclip waaaay ahead of time. I have to ride in a small downtown-type area so it's a little hairy, stop & go for about 2 miles until I get out of the city then it's smooth, windy counrty pavement along the river for as far as I want to go. 

After about an hour really pushing it, I head back into town and the first stoplight is coming up so I unclip my right foot (because I always put the right foot down) and slowly pull up beside a big ol' buick with a couple of milkshakes inside staring at me in my glowing spandex glory and watch, horrified, as I come to a slow stop and casually tip over to the left! By the looks on their faces you'd have thought they had just witnessed a homicide - I think I was up on my feet as quickly as I went down and bolted in embarassment. Good times.

I've got a few good ones.

*A few months after I first got clipless pedals, I was feeling a lot more comfortable with them.  So, I clipped in and started riding out of the parking lot and into the street for my ride.  A car pulled out right in front of me and I wasn't so good at clipping out quickly.  I tried to twist my body up to prevent myself from falling (stupid!) and ended up taking the fall on my rib cage.  I laid on the ground for a minute until on of the kids in my neighborhood asked if I needed help.  Turns out I fractured 3 ribs.  Ouch.

*Last year I was doing a ride and climbing up a really long hill (2 or 3 miles).  I unclipped to take a break, but only had time to get one foot out.  I put it down and my cleat slipped on the ground and I fell down and had the bike on top of me.

I've fallen a few other times without as much pain or drama, but those are the most memorable. 

My MOST embarrassing moment was in a sprint tri out of T1.  You walk your bike out and then there's a small uphill.

Left foot in, clipped, push, great.  Right foot in, push, OH NO!  right foot NOT clipped in, just playing, so my foot slides off the pedal quite forcefully, which then tips the bike over to the left.  I frantically try and get left foot to clip out, of course, nothing happens and I fall over.

Right in front of everybody standing at T1.  Yep.  They all asked if I was ok, I mumbled something got on my bike as fast as I could and left.

I was at my LBS getting fit for my first road bike and then took it for a parking lot spin to try the aero bars out for the first time.  Two spins around the lot and then back to the front door...riding slowly as there were all sorts of people with bikes milling around outside.  Oh, this was also my first ride with clipless pedals.  Yeah....that.  I rolled up to the front door all cool-like, got within 5 feet of the door and came to a standstill, went to plant my left foot and then it hit me.  The ground, that is.  Like a domino, I challenged Newton and lost.  Several horrified onlookers gasped, and the only thing that could be heard was me muttering (out loud), "That did NOT just happen...that did NOT just happen...that..." as I got up and walked my bike back into the store.
If ever there was an actual I Dream of Jeanie moment when you could make yourself disappear, this was it.

Chris

Woo Hoo! I'm in the club. I had my first today.

I saw a guy walking his bike, so was stopping to see if he needed some help. I unclipped on the right, but the road was slanting downward to my left - and that's the way the bike went. So I get up and try to act like it's all good with a quick check to see if I scratched my bike. The guy didn't want my help - had a friend with a truck coming to get him - so I went on my way.

What sucked is I just got this bike in January - new tri bike! This never happened on my old road bike. Fortunately, I just scuffed the seat and crushed a water bottle holder on my flatwing. I broke my fall with my hand, so didn't even mess up my LSU jersey!

Sometimes being a good Samaritan doesn't pay. 

Twice in one week-- this week....

Got LOOK pedals last week after riding in SPD's for the last 6 months.  In a beginners coached ride we are all pulling up in a circle to get some directions.  I use it as an opportunity to practice quick braking.  Pull up, brake smoothly to a stop while standing, pause for a moment, then start to tip.  somehow got my foot out only to have it slip on the wet pavement and I go slow motion falling towards my coach.  We reach towards each other but miss and I slide to the ground.  Apparently it was pretty graceful.  Didn't feel so graceful wiggling on the ground trying to unclip my my other foot.

Then 2 days later pull up to a cross walk and unclip my right foot, only to slowly tip to the left.  BAM!  Of course the sidewalk was filled with people.  I hit the ground and bounced up instantly trying act like nothing happened. No one on the sidewalk was looking at me so I thought the embarrassment wasn't so bad. And was only bummed that I scratched by brake hoods and levers a bit.

Then I hear "Are you ok?" And look behind me to see a cyclist with some of the largest quads I have ever seen pull up. "Yeah, just my pride." I say.  "What happened?" he asked. I'm trying to tell myself this happens to everyone at some point so no need to turn bright red right now.yeah, didn't work.  "Unclipped the wrong foot," I tell him. He just nodded and I'll admit I was pretty happy when the light changed and he wished me a good afternoon and left me in the dust.

It's good to show the tyke's we're human, too    At least it wasn't in front of a teenaged child - then he would have been more embarassed than you!

Don't you hate it when you accidentally clip in without meaning to? I went down hard once because I didn't expect it to happen. 

.

Once I was the new guy on a group ride, pulled up to the row of other riders at a light, tried to unclip, couldn't and toppled right into the guy next to me  He kept me up, thank goodness, or we could have gone down like dominoes.  He was like "DUDE, What the F!!!"  Once he realized everything was ok, and what happened, we just laughed.  I was SO embarrassed.

One other time, I was the last to get to a stopping point on a MTN bike trail I was doing with about 4 other guys and a couple girls.  All the others come to a stop to watch and wait for the other riders to come down a technical section.  I was the last one down, handled the trail wonderfully, come screetching to a stop, can't unclip and fall over like a sack of potatoes into a juniper bush with an entire audience.  They give me crap ALL DAY about that, and STILL remind me about it to this day.

I took a spill at T2 in my first ever triathlon.  I came in, stopped at the line, and heard, "UNCLIP, UNCLIP!!!" 

Doh!

I did manage to get out just in time to plant a heel down, which of course slipped right out from under me.  So there I am, laying on my back with my bike on top of me in front of a few hundred people.  One of the volunteers came to help me up and at least he said, "Not the first time I've seen it, and it sure won't be the last.  Now have a good run."

I always manage to fall from a standstill. I know, I know...but it can be done. First time (of many), I needed to make a u-turn on a narrow bike trail and since I was not all that confident in my bike handling skills, I decided to stop, unclip on one side, and scoot myself around. I unclipped my right foot, put it on the ground, and proceeded to u-turn to the left. Doh. Smacked my knee on the pavement. Nice.

Hubby has a few of his own. My fav is when he took his car to the garage for some work and decided that he would just ride home. So, there he is, all cool and what-not in his cycling shorts and jersey, heading out of the parking lot, when he wonders if he forgot his wallet. So, he stops. Just stops. Feet still clipped in. Slow-mo topple in front of all the mechanics. Good one.