General Cycling Discussion - Pics: Here's the results of my first two rides out.

As I mentioned here-> http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=63738 I had some cleat problems and a little fall yesterday. In general today went better, I had my cleats on properly and I left much earlier in order to beat the heat. Unfortunately I had another fall and it was a little worse this time. My group was traveling on the sidewalk (legal in FL) and this dude pushed his wheelbarrow onto the sidewalk, I barely had time to react but I was able to maneuver into the grass and around the wheelbarrow but when I tried to get back onto the sidewalk the ground happened to be much lower than the sidewalk so I hit it hard. I was proud that I was able to disengage my cleat before I fell but I hit my knee pretty hard. Scary thing was I wasn't wearing a helmet this time, it hasn't arrived in the mail yet. Anyways to make things interesting here are a few pics of the results from my first two rides. Two are of my arm and leg when I hit the fire hydrant yesterday (see above mentioned thread) and the others are of my right knee from today. There are definitely more scrapes and such but these seemed like the only ones worth photographing.
Oh, I was going about 16 mph at the time.

Ouchie.........

Did you ice the knee?

Yeah, I ice it for about 20 minutes then leave it off for a while. I'm tired of icing it though so since the swelling has gone down I'll probably stop doing it for now. My wife made me bandage it up as well 'cause she was worried, she has a hospital job and all that. It doesn't hurt bad at all except for the skin part. The knee is a bit stiff though.
It's funny because this is the third time I've hit this knee recently. The first time I installed a dryer for my friend the other day and didn't have any room to get out from the back so I pulled myself over the top of it and accidently fell and landed right on the knee, then yesterday I hit it rough and now today. Anyone else want to share photos of their accidents?

dude, dont ride on the sidewalk. that area is for pedestrians...theres not enough room there. ride in the road. sure, you have to put up with cars, but it is a lot safer, imo. plus, its bumpy! how do you deal with that?

That's why you don't ride on the freakin sidewalk. Legal or not.

Yeah well I'm a newbie riding with a group of newbies and everyone is not comfortable on the road just yet. Trust me I'm not happy about dealing with the sidewalk for the above mentioned reasons but the group needs to ease into road riding. I just hope my accident helps me get the point across.
So far with the riding we have done on the roads we haven't had any problems such as unnecessary honking or rude drivers yet.
Thanks for the advice, hopefully we will be riding strictly on the road soon.

When your group starts riding on the road, have the largest person ride at the back, riding further out from the side than all the others. That will force passing cars to give a bit more room.

Yeah well I'm a newbie riding with a group of newbies and everyone is not comfortable on the road just yet. Trust me I'm not happy about dealing with the sidewalk for the above mentioned reasons but the group needs to ease into road riding. I just hope my accident helps me get the point across.
So far with the riding we have done on the roads we haven't had any problems such as unnecessary honking or rude drivers yet.
Thanks for the advice, hopefully we will be riding strictly on the road soon.

I know exactly how you feel. Pure noob me about a year ago, rode on the sidewalk wrong way, at night with no front or real lights, again on the sidwalk.

After being in one accident and seeing another, finally I said ok that's it, i'm riding like i'm supposed to - on the road. You'll get to that point as well - hopefully without the idiotness that I was.

Road is the way to go. My wife has been pretty uncomfortable on the road until recently, and now she'd much rather be on the road. We stay out of the way when we can, we take the lane when it's appropriate, and we occasionally ride sidewalk (legal here) when it's prudent. We spend maybe 2% of our time on sidewalks. When you are on the road, drivers see you and have to consider that you might actually have the right to be there. As someone else said, large rider in the back. I don't wear a jersey all the time, but I do tend to make sure that I'm wearing a white shirt for visibility. Mirrors help a lot, and if riding at night don't even think about riding without lights, reflectors, and maybe extra reflective tape.

Be visible, be predictable. Use signals. Don't just demand respect, earn it.

MBD RX for making the switch to riding on the road,

#1 rent the movie Quicksilver with Kevin Bacon,

#2 imagine that you are a bike courier that zooms thru traffic with nerves of steel.

#3 drink one red bull or AMP or whatever gets you poppin........ and now gooooooooooooo ride with the wind on the road,

Good advice everyone, thanks.
Where is a good place to put reflective tape that will be visible for cars but not make my bike look stupid. Okay I know safety is more important but still....