Originally Posted by aprilm

I was going around a sharp corner downhill, applied my front brakes, and my front tire slid out from underneath me. Landed face/elbow first, and I'm not entirely sure how that happened. My left eye is feeling a bit "swollen", and I have a yucky scrape on my elbow... and my left shoulder hurts. Sigh. The bike's handlebars came out of alignment along with my seat, and the chain came off. It can never be simple with me.

Anyway, so I'm still learning techniques, and I read on Sheldon Brown's web site that you should use the front brakes more often than the rear brakes. Can someone please explain to me when you should use the rear brakes? Was this a time that I should have? The ground was very dry, so if I had applied the rear brakes, wouldn't my rear wheel have slid out too? I'm very confused about the whole brakes thing...