Just curious, but how are the falls happening?

1. Are you sideswiping the bridge guardrails or safety fence?
2. Hitting a bollard (those "safety" posts in the middle of the entrance/exit ostensibly to thwart motor vehicles but actually designed to make bicycles crash)?
3. Is the front tire, or are both tires, being knocked sideways after contacting a small ledge or uneven transition between the path to the bridge and bridge walkway?
4. Something else?

Asking because when I resumed cycling last year after a 30 year break I found it easy to resume riding in traffic, but trickier to negotiate the narrow paved path on the local multi-use path, and, especially, the bridges. Took awhile, and a few minor falls, to solve those problems.

Part of the challenge is astigmatism, which makes some geometric shapes and objects appear slightly distorted. Usually I don't notice but approaching narrow paths with walls, fences, guardrails or bollards can be tricky. I also occasionally experience migraines and cluster headaches, which can mess with visual acuity and depth perception -- but I avoid riding on those days.

Another part of the challenge was that while I'd been accustomed to riding in traffic years ago -- and found it easy to resume that -- I'd never liked MUPs back then and avoided them. But I wanted to explore the extensive MUP in our area so I had to get accustomed to the narrow paths shared by oncoming cyclists, pedestrians/joggers, families with kids and dogs, etc.

My first fall occurred last year on a narrow bridge on the MUP. I over-corrected to make room for a faster oncoming cyclist, and my right handlebar grip snagged a chain link fence safety guard. This was one of the few bridges without bollards partially blocking the center.

There were a couple of close calls with narrow bridges that did have bollards, which I smacked with the mirror or my elbow. Eventually I solved that problem by removing the mirror's extension arm.

I was accustomed to narrower drop bars and while I prefer the more upright bars now I'd still rather have narrower bars. I've swapped for narrower flat bars on one bike, and may shorten the other bars by 1/2" or so off each end.

It was mostly a mental game. Getting accustomed to holding a tight line on a narrow path just took practice and getting used to looking where I wanted to go, rather than *at* oncoming cyclists. Some couples and smalls groups of cyclists tend to ride two abreast on our narrow MUP and it doesn't help if I stare directly at them and give 'em the stink eye. They won't move or change their habits, and it's easier to hold my own line by looking down the clear lane on my side rather than worrying about what they're doing.

Several months ago I fell twice in one week while going around families or large groups of people on the MUP just meandering around slowly, with kids or dogs. Rather than barking "On your right!" or expecting them to move I'd found it easier to just veer off the paved path onto the grass, then back onto the path after clearing around them. I'd done it many times before without incident. So I was puzzled about why I fell twice doing the same thing.

Turned out I'd been experimenting with higher air pressure on my tires and forgot to reduce the pressure back to the familiar range. The higher pressure (85 psi), while within the manufacturer's specs, made the tires rebound like superballs off the little ledge of the pavement while veering back from the grass. I'd gotten lazy from using lower pressure, which climbed the ledge safely even at a steep angle. Turns out I didn't like the feel of those tires at higher pressure anyway. Since then I run 'em at 40-60 psi, depending on terrain. More comfortable ride, no loss of speed or increase in effort, and no more superball drama over minor variations in pavement and terrain.

Even after a year of riding and getting comfortable again I still practice a few things before riding, especially if it's been a few days since my last ride. Before leaving my parking lot I'll check my balance, visual perceptions of distance by riding alongside a fence on one side, a curb on the other, ride along rutted pavement running the direction I'm riding, and do a couple of panic braking maneuvers at 5-10 mph. It's about 100 yards to the street, so it's an easy habit to develop and run through a few warmups before getting into traffic.