AshtonEMT

I was starting a ride today, and stopped by my wife's work to give her her cell phone. I pulled up to the front door, unclipped my left foot, twisted ever so slightly while reaching into one of the pockets on my jersey, and ...wham! I felt to the right. It was hilarious! I was right in front of the building, already drawing attention in the getup, and gave everyone a real reason to laugh. It was the first meeting of my new bike and road. Oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Those slow motion wrecks have got to be great to witness.

photonick

I did that when i put new SPD cleats on my shoes back when i rode those things earlier this year and wasn't ready for the stiffer action and fell over at a stop light on PCH...of course as a group of good looking bikini clad girls were walking across on their way to the beach.

J.W.

I did that the other day. I wasnt thinking and didnt shift to an easy gear coming up to a stop sign. Needless to say J.W. got a rude awakening when he tried to one-legged peddle up the hill from a start while trying to clip in......yes i fell over.

sonnyred

This being my first year with a road bike and clipless pedals, I unclipped my left foot at my turn around point out on a very lonely country road, and in turning around I turned the crank 1 more revolution and didn't realize my foot had clipped back into the pedal, and when I stopped to get tissue from my jacket...I fell over in ever so slow motion. My brain said I was unclipped..but the reality was I wasn't....and of course the only car that was on that road in almost an hour came by right then....at least they stopped to ask if I was OK.....they looked at me like I was an escaped mental patient...
Sonny Red

jimisnowhere

The worst of it is trying to unclip out from under the bike. Everyone's gotta do a few horizontal trackstands.

C_Heath

LOLOLOL

Yep.........................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSQ1h_a3450

making

I always reading about others doing it, makes me fell a little less stupid. I have done it twice now, and there was extenuating circumstances the second time. Still felt like a dummy.

JaRow

I did that yesterday. It was painful on the ego. I pulled up to a red light and tried to keep rolling but that was kinda tough. I haven't figured out trackstands yet so I fell over to the right. I was much more concerned about the bike than my body. The bar tape got ripped a little and my hand has a nice bruise like thing on it. Fun stuff.

Kurt Erlenbach

Anyone who says they've never done that is lying.

Psimet2001 

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Everyone might do it, but we don't talk about it. If we don't talk about it then it never really happened and we all have license to laugh at the noob when they do it. Making fun of noobs is where it's all at. It's what keeps our eliteist fires burning.

BTW - 20 years riding...happened to me once. In the middle of a town at the busiest intersection they had.

skiracing

No reason to lie, I've never done it. Had a few very very close calls but no cigar. I don't know if it's the pedals or I'm just good but I've found the pedals to be a lot easier than I'd imagined them (Time RXS)before I ever used them. Most of the time I'm out of the seat before uncliping or before I'm fully clipped in... being out of the seat you'll be able to drop your foot faster or crank more power if need be, hasn't failed me yet. The 2 times I was nano seconds away from dropping on the side was due to not following the above.

kesa101

i did it outside an english pub in summer - about 40 or so young drunk guys outside. still haven`t gotten over it! and that was 18 years ago.....

Psimet2001 

Mine happened in my 15th or so year of riding.....just because it hasn't happened yet................

skiracing

Fair enough, I just hope it doesn't happen tomorrow!

Beaker

My sympathies - I had a few of those moments at the start of the year, when I first went clipless. After posting here, my slow brain finally acknowledged that leaning the bike (and your body) towards your unclipped foot is the way to go. Never had a problem unclipping coming to a stop, but that slight shift of weight over to the wrong side of the top tube got me a good couple of times. And yeah, getting unclipped while you're on your back is waaayy harder.

mr handy

I have tasted pavement at a stop sign once.

but the first time a went down I was going around a tight circle and I hit a patch of sand, and down I went. I was doing about 2 mph and didn't think to unclip.

the most embarrassing fall I have had was... I was coming out of my driveway. Took my right hand off the bar to wave to my neighbor. pulled up with my left foot, popped right out of the peddle, and down I went. knocked my front wheel out of true and I have no idea how a managed to not scratch my brand new brooks swallow saddle... just lucky I guess,

Moral of the story, don't wave to your neighbors.

RT

My road rash is almost healed from my horizontal confrontation with the road two weeks ago. Is it just me, or do most unclip from their left? Why?

waikikihei

because the right hemisphere of your brain is excercising it's dominance. "hey left hemisphere, stfu and keep the right foot there, whilst i give the left foot something interesting to do."

jimbud

Congratulation, You're now a official member of the 0 MPH fall club. I've been a card holding member since 1999.

jccaclimber

I unclip from the right. I'm also right handed if that matters.

Beaker

I unclip from the left because I've always pushed off with my right foot.

ericgu

4 years ago, I was on a century ride. I pulled into a gravel food stop with about 300 people, and promptly fell over.

The only thing that happened was that the closest 2 or 3 riders asked me if I was okay and helped me up.

twahl

Most people unclip from the left because they like to push off from the right and the chain is on the right. Less chance of getting a chain ring tattoo if that foot is always clipped in.

Looneytuna

I renewed my 0mph membership last month...
Was waiting for some of the group at a turn... stopped at the corner and had a memory lapse (forgot to unclip)..
The group had a good laugh as did I..

Feathers

i'm an equal-opportunity unclipper. either foot works fine for me to unclip when needed.