The down side to all this riding is no clients. No clients = very little $. I'm in the 'more time than money' part of 'I have enough $ and no time, or no $ and enough time to ride' equation. M
Qouting myself 'cause I'm cool like that. And these clipless pedals are weird! I am glad I didn't go to the trails for the first ride. I will get used to them, but I think I almost fell every single time I came to a stop. Not a natural feel at all! Just have to train my brain what to do when stopping, but it will come.
Soft ground is good for the first few times! I had just gotten a new pair of time Atac's back in '99, and was fooling around in a neighbors driveway. I did a wheelie, bounced off a pine tree, and landed shoulder first on gravel. Couldn't unclip in time with fresh cleats. 3rd degree AC separation... Good luck!
I rode with flats for the first time in months. It was horrible. I had to keep readjusting my foot placement, and I couldn't generate anywhere near the power I had with clipless pedals. It made the bike feel 30 lbs heavier! Once you get used to clipless, there's no going back.
It could have been worse. You could have broken your hip and needed surgery to put the pieces back together. Like someone else I know.
Wow, no kidding. :eek1 I'm still amazed that you could do that much damage to yourself tipping over!!!!!! You seem to have gotten over it pretty well!
It was an unusual accident. The doctor said that had I been moving at the time, it would have been a glancing blow, unlikely to result in a fracture. Good thing they had three long screws handy.
Argh! Commuted in today on the pedal bike and got right-hooked. Bruised hip/cheek and lost some knuckle skin, but other than that I'm fine. More pissy about the scratched skewer and the driver that bolted after impact. I should have realized what was happening sooner. I may have been able to avoid the collision if I'd been a bit more cautious/alert. I'll have to check the Black Friday sales online, too. My Hincapie bib has a quarter-sized hole in the left cheek now.
Haymarket's first winter bike league map We did most of the ride today, but we kinda cut off the top of the ride but turning left onto Carter's Farm and riding Parsons down to Hulbert's and then on to Halfway. In our defense, we'd ridden up from Warrenton and had to ride back to Warrenton. 4+hrs and 51.5mi of mixed surface riding. It was actually mostly gravel roads. I got 'pipped at the line' at the top of Bull Run Mtn after having towed B's ass up there, but I got him on Busthead Rd a little (lot) later. So our actual path was Warrenton out Blackwell to Blantyre. Crossed 55/66 and kept going on Old Busthead to Waterfall. We turned right onto Waterfall and left onto Old Bull Run Mtn Rd. Followed most of the ride from there. We retraced our steps from the bottom of Busthead back to Warrenton. Have I mentioned my legs are tired?! If I haven't, they are. M Pics added to my buddy's FB page Snack time! Snack time again!
Didya tell him that soon enough it'll become so ingrained that if he's about to go over the bars he'll know how to unclip so he can jump and land on his feet? BTDT Till then, expect to fall. Typically it'll be at a dead stop. M
set em loose for a while,till it becomes secord nature then tighten em up. it's a helpless feeling ,stopping ,wiggling your feet wildly as you slowly tip over. knowing what's comming. while your friends are doing this Good luck You'll get it soon enough
Put this in Shiny Things too, but what the hell, I'm pretty stoked. Picked up a new cross rig yesterday. It's going to be my winter trainer, wet day, commuter, cyclocross ride. I rode a Ridley in some really wet conditions not too long ago in on some really hilly trails and roads. I was disappointed with the quality of the braking to the point where I thought I was gonig to kill myself. Big selling feature of this bike is the disk brakes. First ride tonight!!
Falling is not compulsory though Tips: When coming to a stop, unclip both feet. If you unclip say left, by the time you stop, right may be more convenient to put down, cue roll over If you come to a stop, attempt to unclip and fail, don't struggle to unclip, that will only make you fall, move a bit further and unclip. If no space or you feel there is no space, hold the brakes, press on the pedals, that may buy you time to unclip one foot. Most times its panic that causes the fall, you still have a few seconds left to unclip if only......
+1. My first 'cross bike was a Norco that has since been relegated to commuter duty. I've beat that thing like a rented mule and it keeps hanging in there. A good, solid bike.
