Originally Posted by
softreset
I've eaten asphalt on the ARBT something like 3 or 4 times now and I've only been riding on it since July of last year. More often then it's going too fast or too hard into a corner but a few times it's been to slick pavement or some other random scenario. Needless to say I've stopped buying nice helmets and I've been thankful that no one is around me. They've all been fairly low speed crashes too (sub 15 MPH), I suspect that's why the road rash or what have you hasn't been so bad.
Recovering from a crash/fall where you're not serious hurt is 100% mental to get back on the bike. My first fall was prompt the worst and I tore my leg (same leg and area as you) and I didn't ride for almost a week. But the previous falls, I was not only right back up on the bike but I tried to shake it off almost immediately.
You may need to ease into it, that's perfectly normal. But you need to commit to getting back onto the bike, even if it's just around the neighborhood.
yeah, my wife keeps asking me to ride, but it's only been a week and my roadrash is still pretty raw. I have medical coverage +, which means my wife's a doc and a lot of my friends are docs so they've been helping me throughout this injury. I still love the sport and think once the pain subsides I'll get back on my bike but keep a conscious mind to not take the corners so fast.
Thanks for the tips everyone. I was talking to my client and mentioned my spill, he said it's good that all road bikers fall and get road rash, that it's a right of passage.
Originally Posted by
softreset
Sounds good.
Back to OP (seeing somehow my riding style has derailed the conversation). Shimano has a "entry" brand of their clipless pedals called Click'r that might be worth exploring. They also have touring shoes designed to go with them. You can pick up the shoes and pedals (that come with cleats) for about $125 on Amazon.
I tried for a shop review and they were pretty cool. Super easy to get in & out of and the shoes were great for walking around in after/before riding. I don't know if I'd want to wear those shoes on my next century but that's not the target audience for them. The good news, you can "upgrade" to more formal road shoes and the pedals can continue to be used as they're standard Shimano MTB SPD pedals.
Normally I just tell people who visit the shop that you need to "jump into the deep end" and an overwhelming percentage of our customers do just that. However, I totally get the hesitation, I had it back in the day. We've all had the "in slow motion" fall at some point (no doubt someone will post saying they've never experienced it... Good for you!).
Softreset - I see you are in Sacramento like me. You mentioned "the shop", which one are you referring too?