Sincitycycler

I was doing my long uphill climp back home after applying for a high paying croupier job at the Rio Casino today finally caught a friggin' red light at thke 8 mile mark. I usually unclip my right foot and stand on that at an intersection, but for some reason, my equilibrium was a little off, probably, from the exertion of the hill climb, that I fell over on my left side!

If any of the cagers were laughing there asses off, I wouldn't know. Hope they were on there cell phones. I still had Gun's and Roses cranking on my mp3 player and just picked my ass up. I have a scraped up knee as a trophy.

Funny thing that right before I landed on my ass, my left foot unclipped! What a Homer!

cryogenic

It happens to everyone, no joke. At least you can laugh at yourself for it and you weren't hurt.

sunninho

Exactly, and it happens when you least expect it. At least you didn't bruise much more than your knee and your ego

Sincitycycler

I've had clipless pedals for 3 weeks now, and I've fallen over twice - today and on a grassy knoll by the book depository last week. Only Lee Harvey Oswald saw the first tumble (actually , it was the dog park-good thing all of the hot babes were trying to get their mutts to crap!).

I haven't eaten it yet at 30 mph down a hill, but I have gotten in touch with terra firma when I'm going zero mph! Welcome to the world of cycling I guess.

cryogenic

It's easier to fall over @ 0mph than it is to crash at 30mph, I think. At 0mph when you're in the middle of a stop that's kinda when you're relaxing and not really paying as much attention to everything. I know at 30mph, I'm paying attention to EVERYTHING, even the slightest bumps in the road.

Geoff326

man i almost did the exact same thing, clip out on right, then start tipping over on left. luckily my left foot naturally clipped out during my leftward motion and i was able to put my left foot securely on the ground. i'm sure it's a matter of time that it happens again and i won't be so lucky

baj32161

I've done it twice, the most recent time being 2 days ago. I feel your pain and even have the scraped knee to prove it. It didn't happen during my first month of riding clipless, but it has happened twice in the last 2 weeks, both times at red lights ....

Kind of reminded me of the little guy on the trike on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In."

samp02

everyone has those memoeries. Funny when you look back on it.

baj32161

The only thing that wasn't funny is what caused me to fall over...some idiot skidding through the light right towards me and me trying to get out of the way, wanting to jump off of the bike instead of pedal like hell out of there. The funny part is the guy missed where I was by no less that 50 feet, but it was the sound of the skid that startled me.

vtjim

I would have gotten up and taken a bow.

Did that once after a spectacular wreck on a snowboard. Right under the fully-loaded chairlift, of course. Got some applause.

theopowers

Last week I was reading an old Bicycling mag "600 tips" book on the john, and one of the tips was to "always unclip on the left side to avoid a chainring grease tattoo". Now, I have always unclipped on the right side, and indeed regularly have said grease tattoo. I have even left grease remnants on a friend's couch!

So I tried it the very next morning. Hopped on for my commute, clipped in on the right side, and took off. Well, I would have, but I had the gearing at around 53-11 from the ride home the night before, and the bike went nowhere. My body/brain being completely unfamiliar with the new setup, instead of just putting my left foot down I froze up and tipped over in the middle of the street right in front of my house. What a great way to start the day!

Crash Dummy

I just did the stereotypical "new to clipless" fall yesterday. I was going out for my first ride, bound and determined NOT to forget to clip out. Then, approaching a red light, a walker going the same direction asked me something about my bike. Slowing down, I answered him. In the process, I stopped, feet still firmly in place on the pedals. Just as my balance was shifting, I managed to say "Awww... This'll be embarrassing" on my way down. It was one of those slow-start tips, you know the kind. The walker (and myself) couldn't stop laughing. Then I got asked about why clipless pedals were so great...

ckleps

Are you left or right handed sincity? I noticed you said you clip out your right foot. I always did my left because it felt better getting my first push on the pedal with my right foot to start out. Just curious about that. wonder if it was inate or just some preference you got used to.

Chongo

All of us have done it. Just be careful. I work for a sheriff's department, and knowing that I was a biker, he told me of a death scene he went to. It seems that a rider didn't properly unclip at a stop and fell to his left right when a truck was pulling up beside him. Sadly, his melon was smashed.

TheKillerPenguin

It happens. I fell over at my first race

phredd

It happened to me at my first Century ride last year (Seagull). Right at the start area I did the slow mo keel over. An older woman doing the ride came up to me, and with a grandmotherly voice asked "are you alright, young man?" Needless to say, my friends still give me s@#% about it!

Phredd

sunninho

2 weeks ago, I fell over trying to dodge a fire hydrant the city put in the middle of the sidewalk leaving only enough room for pedal clearance. Getting taken down by another moving object is understandable, but I never thought about a fire hydrant

baj32161

I like that one...mine never seem to be that funny.

Brian

klondike300

I bit it a work when I first got clipless. Went to step on it up a hill outside the facility and snapped my crappy old chain. Balanced for a second spinning what felt like about 200rpm before I realized what was up and fell right over.
Plus I've done the wipeout right under the chairlift skiing like VTJIM said earlier. Total yard sale with the equipment. Oh well, get up, take a bow and keep moving.

Smaug

I did it once at a (seemingly) deserted intersection. Didn't get my foot out in time and tipped over going about 1mph. As I was getting up, a car pulled up behind me (I was in the lane). Of course, driving the car was a really cute girl, about my age. She was laughing her head off.

In retrospect I should have used the opportunity to be "injured" and require "assistance".

1955

How many are willing to jinks themselves and say that falling over while in clipless pedals has never happened to them??? I've noticed that in these type of threads that it's only the ones who have fallen over that comment. Any takers???

ravenmore

Mine was pulling up to a crowded Starbucks on a Sunday afternoon right after church let out. I ****ed for a sec trying to get my legs out, then accepted my fate and keeled over like something out of a Benny Hill rerun. Family entertainment at its finest.....

Monument Man

on my morning commute into work i typically wake up and go, quick as can be. anyways sometimes i'm still groggy and one time i tipped over right in front of my bike nemesis.

doh!

Griz

I fell over a little while ago. Only been clipless this week and was doing real good with them. But at the end of the ride today, as I rolled up to my truck, I clipped out of my left pedal as usual and thought "clip out right side" and the brain said "lean to the right" at a near dead stop. Got up laughing hoping not too many people saw it. Oh well, guess that's how you learn.

Dave

airjames

I fell at the beach last year in front of about 20 people while going around a kid in the middle of the path. His mother told him to move at the last second of which he did, right where I was ging thru, needless to say my front wheel dove into the sand up to what seemed like the fork and over I went. No chance to bail out. I rode away bleeding and laughing.