Wow, do I have to admit these? Probably not, but I will anyway. I'd gone (I kid you not) 30 years since my last crash. Until 3 months ago, I'd not actually gone down on a bike since I was 15 (I'm 45, to save you the math). However, in the last 3 months, I've gone down 3x, all on bikes that I wasn't familiar with, but it had more to do with arrogance and stupidity than that.

1st Gravity Study: Riding along on the return leg of a 20 mile round trip ride, I spy a few ducks to the right. I start watching the ducks and fail to notice the bus sign pole approaching rapidly. I had just enough time to say "Oh crap!" before hitting it with, and destroying, the front wheel of my son's mountain bike. Replacement wheel, $50 and 2 hours; road rash, a week; bruises, two weeks. Having to endure comments like "Ah, you forgot to DUCK!" Priceless.

2nd Gravity Study: I'm old enough to have used toe clips with cleats and got my first set of SPD pedals/shoes 2 months ago. The advice to practice before riding?? Heed that advice. I didn't. Classic tipping over at stop light in front of a crowd of people.

3rd Gravity Study: Speaking of clipless pedals, it had not occurred to me not to follow my wife up a hill as closely as I always have. She stopped suddenly to chat. I had a choice between a 10' drop to the right (bad), hitting my wife (even worse) or having my fall cushioned by a very nice hedge of roses. I chose the roses, far less painful than the other alternatives. Yes, in shorts. Yes, with short sleeves. And yes, it took 5 minutes to get the bike untangled before I could manage to extract myself from the bush...