I fall...a lot...when standing still...

Kira, i cannot help you out but i will share a funny story to help you feel better. I was doing a charity bike ride www.ctchallenge.com for cancer survivorship, i was in the start area and talking to the guy next to me, he was very nice and was riding an older steel bike and we were talking about my bike and such because it was relativlely new. Well i am clipping into the pedals to try them out since i just tightened the resisitance to get out of them, i put my right foot in the pedal and my weight transfered to my right side, i fell over like a tree, at the start, not even moving with 150 people in the immediate vicinity and had not even pedaled yet. I was soooo embarrassed, the man turns to me and goes you ok?? i said yeah, he goes nice bike, and we all laughed. Don't fret, have confidence and you will start having no problems, and if i am there and see ya fall, i;ll help ya back up and say  "nice Bike". 

Rudy

Thanks Rudy, you made me laugh! LOL  When I fell at Griskus last month, the lady spectator I fell in front of goes, "Are you okay?" and I said, "Yessssss, I'm fine...(grumble)" and she goes, "Oh don't worry no one noticed & you looked good falling!" ..I said, "I've had LOTS of experience, unfortunately..."

I've done the same thing on a few different occasions.  My first spill was at a huge bike ride in Florida (back when we lived there).  We were at a sag stop and I unclipped left and leaned right.  I said my husband's name about 3 time on the way down.  When he was finished laughing he asked what he was supposed to do.  I told him I just thought that if he had a free hand at that moment he could have tried to catch me.  We laughed the rest of the ride over it.  It was a little embarassing since there were about 30 riders coming up behind us at the exact moment I went down.  My next incident was when I got my new bike.   Took off for a ride from our condo we had rented in Destin.  Had to stop and wait on the big gate to open.  I don't know what my husband was doing, but when he turned back around, I was laying in the flower bed.  Again, when he stopped laughing, he asked why I was laying in the garded.  We spent the rest of the ride discussing the diff between a flower bed and garden. 

I haven't done it in months, but we've all been there.

I have a couple questions. When you stop, are you straddling the bike or do you dismount completely? Can you start when are you clipped in w/ left foot, push a bit w/ the right and then put your right leg over the bar? If you straddle - what position are your feet when you start and do you leave your left clipped in and push w/ your right? Can you pedal w/o being clipped in? Did you ever use toe straps before you went to clips?

One quick suggestion, You may want to use a lower gear when you start to get spinning more quickly.

I would also just practice starting and stopping. find a good empty parking lot and just keep doing it, over and over again, have that be one of you bike workouts, or take a 1/2 hour out of your two hour ride to work on this technique. If you still have the fear of hurting yourself on pavement, if you have a Mountain bike, put the pedals on that, go to a soft grassy field and work on starting and stopping. The fat tires and soft ground will help w/ the mental part. Its a technique that some have to work on and some dont, so dont be frustrated, clips can be frightening. it just takes time, practice and patience to increase your comfort level.  You may also want to 'take a step back' and try toe straps to help get more comfortable.

I would suggest, FWIW, if you unclip w/ your right (your dominant) to stabilize yourself when stopped and are straddling the bar, you then unclip your left and clip your right back in while stopped at the 6 o'clock and in a lower gear. When your ready to start, put your pelvis close to the handle bars and give yourself a couple of pushes w/ your uncliped left, then when you get a little speed, straighten your right leg, sit on the seat, move the right pedal up (backwards) to the the 9 o'clock (closer to the front wheel) and pedal once or twice without trying to clip in. You should have enough speed at that point to clip in and not fall and still be able to bail if a car comes by and not loose your balance.

I would also try to work on when you start, clipping in w/ your left, push w/ your right (like a scooter) and then mount the bike while moving, you should be able to clip your right in easily since that is the one you are most comfortable with.

Hope this helps

I don't think it should make a lot of difference which side you've clipped out.  I ALWAYS clip out on the left, and stay clipped right.  Like others have said, as you approach the stop, drop to a lower gear.  Also, bring the clipped in foot to a ready position, just a little forward of the 12 oclock position.  That way you can get the momentum you will need to take off when the light or traffic is cleared.

And just because something works for the BF doesn't mean it will work for you.  I have a good friend who does the same kind of thing with his girlfriend and his kids. Some of his advice is just flat out backwards, but it works for him so he can't imagine why it doesn't work for everyone!

Okay - first of all - thanks a million for your posts!

 To answer a few questions: when I approach a situation in which a stop is just gonna happen, I clip out my right foot automatically at the bottom of my stroke, let it sort of dangle on the side until I reach the intersection and as I'm slowing, I slide off my seat, bringing my foot down & landing at a compete stop.  My left foot at this point will stay clipped in unless I plan on stopping for an extended period of time.  So, I'm straddling at stops.  I've only ever used clipless pedals, this is my first 'real' bike (and overall cycling experience outside of biking to class in college).  I will then bring my left pedal up to about 10:00 or a little higher, give myself a good initial push and then hope to god I don't have to finagle a lot to get clipped in on the right side and move along.  Here is where i entertained speedplays..part of my panic mode comes from clipping back in..I get all flustered, lose my balance and generally fall to the side I'm still clipped on - generally my left side.  Pedalling without being clipped in is a threatening concept to me b/c my pedals (Look keo) are so slippery ..to me at least... when I'm not clipped into them...there have been times I am trying and trying to get that right foot back in & my cleat just keeps sliding over the bottom of the clip...and I do have them on the easiest setting.  Honestly, I'm probably pretty comical looking to an experienced cyclist - like, what the heck is that woman doing????

I wish I had a mtb to practice on soft ground but I don't..and yes, I've said too I should probably head back to the parking lot where I had my first clip in/out lessons back in the spring and just keep at it...totally valid suggestions that I will definitely put into practice.  I'll also think about that lower gear idea... oh & I clipped out (I have no idea how I pulled this off w/o falling) both feet yesterday and was literally just hanging out on my seat and I thought to myself, Kira, wtf are you doing?!?!  GRRR!  I dont know that putting myself in a completely unclipped place is good for me..I'm, um, not very graceful...obviously.

carlacrews: too funny...whenever I find myself falling or getting panicky, I call out to bf and it makes me laugh now b/c he's always like, I don't know what the he*& you want me to do ...it's just automatic response!  You're stories both made me laugh, ty!

Tomorrow is another hour ride - so maybe I'll take 15 or 20 mins. out of that to practice clipping?  What about turning, do you all clip out when you are turning? For instance, the majority of my rides are out & back...I rarely do loops, especially on my shorter rides...I have only once pulled of turning in the middle of the road...do you clip out here or just stay clipped in...what if there's a balance shift & you're clipped in?  THANKS!

 Kira

Try to learn to keep pedaling even with just the one foot clipped in.  I've used SPD's that are double sided, and still had some minor issues with finding the "sweet spot" to clip in.  Not having used Speedplays, I don't know if they are easier than Looks or SPD's in that regard.  But if you start pedaling, and pull up with the clipped in side, it should work. (Uphill starts are another matter...)

As for turning, I stay clipped in.  I just recently started to keep my inside foot down, which seemed counter-intuitive, but actually works very well to keep the balance right.  On some turns I will keep pedaling, but I never unclip on a turn on the road bike. (Mtn bike is another story at all levels...)

Plus remember the more T.I.T.S. the more you will feel comfortable and at one with the bike.

Thanks Linda, yes, I've heard of this before & it's definitely a good concept to remember - I've applied it in bigger turns (downhill turns especially) but never thought to put it into practice on the tighter, yes, U-turns I'm talking about...thanks a bunch!!!

You guys are all great!  I have a ride today & won't lie, am hoping a bit for rain so I can stay on the trainer & have a low-stress spin...but..I have a feeling I'll be on the roads - every little bit out there helps, maybe I'll stick to the paved trails today.  Does that make me a wimp? 

It sounds to me like you lack a personally acceptable level of bike confidence and that this issue is only adding to it.

One option is to gain confidence in general on the bike and not worry about clipping and unclipping.  In other words switch out your clipless pedals for a couple weeks or so.  There is no reason you HAVE to use clipless.  They do help you climb and spin better but most likely you won't even notice a perfomance difference.

If all you're worried about is falling and the percieved lack of control they cause...then I say switch them out for a while and gain the confidence you need.  Standard pedals are inexpensive and are easily changed.  (Improved T2 time as well...)

Once you get your general comfort level up then put the others back on.  I did this when I first got into MTB trail riding.

Good Luck.

We call it the parking-lot-flop.  the owner of our LBS did one about four months ago, and ended up on his back with the bike up in the air above him - both feet still clipped in.  I did one last week, the only one this year so far.  We were all standing around waiting to ride off for our bike club weekly ride.  Of course they asked if I was ok, I said, "sure, just embarrased"  

I think most of us have done it.  Practice is the key.  When I haven't ridden in a while, I practice 10 or 15 times in the first few blocks.  Clip in, Clip out - Clip in , Clip out. 

Practice grasshopper.  it will come.

Well there is no reason you HAVE to go back them....it's not a rule that you must use them.  If you are more comfortabel without them and you bike more than it's worth the "power loss" plus you may not even feel that much of a difference regarding power.

I say if you are more comfortable not using them DON'T!!!

Update: So I went out last night.  bf switched out my pedals for his - which are still Looks but they are the carbon ones...the clip is a smidge different from mine, they are much lighter etc...and although I didn't notice a major difference clipping out, I did find clipping in much easier...I don't know if it was just b/c they were lighter or if just having a different pedal on there made a difference...funny thing is, I tried to conciously clip out with my left foot and I, I dunno, I got panicky...and so I ended up going back to my right - I know it's time in the saddle I'm dealing with here..and all in all, I felt pretty good last night - but I really had to get pushed out the door..I was thinking I'd be on the trainer but bf was like, no, you need to get out on the road.  Admittedly, I was a little miffed he was being so bossy but in the end, I high 5'd him for making me get out there...tomorrow I ride again & I plan on hitting the parking lot to address the left clipping out issue.

I've thought about removing clipless pedals from the whole situation but, in all honesty, I don't think it'd really ....well..they just seem like they're part of the package and part of learning the different aspects of this sport is, just that..learning...so ...shrug.

Thanks guys!
Kira

Hi Kira,

I'm not too sure whether clipless pedals are really a "part of the package", especially when they're basically terrifying you. I mean, sure they're good and all, but you could manage without as well. Really getting a good feeling for your bike (which will help you in curves, switching lanes etc) sounds a lot more important at the moment.

My girlfriend has a sort of similar problem and she uses pedals that can be clipped in on one side and are regular platform pedals on the other side. When in town/on a technical trail/just not feels like clicking in she will use the platforms. When we're out in the open, she'll click in. Of course, this is not the way the pros do it, but it works perfectly for her. And right now, she's clicking in more and more often, b/c she's getting more comfortable with them.

So, you might want to consider a somewhat more gradual, softer option like that as well.

Good luck!

The Duck