fell for the first time today using my clipless! it was an extremely slow motion fall, just a typical "oh shiiii----- here it comes" moment. I was slowing down ready to tilt to the left to balance as I usually do unclipping my left foot, but somehow fell to my right.

how did you wind up falling your first time using clipless?

I do this about every 4-5 years. Reaction is to look around and hope no one noticed...

Ive been riding clipless on my mtb for 15 years or better, within the past few Ive been riding a roadbike almost exclusively. last weekend my wife and I rode the mtb's. we came to a stop and just then I realized that clipping out of my time atac's takes a little more effort than my speedplay lite action. I laid on the ground with both feet still clipped in laughing long enough for the embarrassment to pass.

Stayed late at work excited to put together my new bike that arrived that day. Took it off the stand, clipped in one foot. Did a little loop kick scooting around the work stand. Somehow lost balance doing the tight circle around the work stand, landed on floor.

Very first second. Clipped in one foot with the pedal closest to the ground. Thought: this is easy. All I have to do now is pedal a bit on one foot and get the other one clipped in. Of course, starting with one foot in the bottom position is incredibly hard. Did not even move an inch and I went crashing into a friend.

thats weird, they should've unclipped upon falling.

I'd been riding clipless for about 5 years with no incident (though yes, I had the same first-time slow-mo "ohhhnoooooooo" moment my first time out) when I went on a century plus ride with a friend. Mile 80 or so we stop at a convenience store for some stomach fuel. I pull up beside him and slow-mo repeats itself. I put my hand right through his rear wheel and spent the entire rest break re-truing if for him and apologizing profusely. He just laughed. Whoops!

yep, that's exactly how it goes, you did it right! congrats

My first time was going up a hill on the mtb. Ran out of gas on the hill stopped and completely forgot I was clipped in! Then proceeded to fall sideways down a slope next to the trail coming to rest pretty much upside down about 10 feet down the slope.
Fortunately no injuries, and even more important no one saw me

how did you wind up falling your first time using clipless?[/QUOTE]

Riding along...raining...hit the "white stripe" on the side of the road. Fell, and broke collarbone. Always thought about unclipping after that.

I was going 0 mph on the Panhandle bike path where it crosses Masonic, waiting for the light to turn green. Unclipped on the right as I always do, tippy-toed with tush still on seat, fell over on the left. This was about two weeks after I went clipless.

I don't tippy-toe anymore.

Well, it wasn't my first clipless incident, but the one on May 5 this year was definitely the worst. I was on a group ride with the folks from Mikes Bike W.C. when we got right hooked by some air-headed cager, forcing us all to stop suddenly and unexpectedly. I'd just put a new set of Look Keo pedals with matching cleats on my bike & shoes respectively, and I had noticed that getting out of them was more difficult than my old Shimano's. Long story short, I didn't get out quite quick enough and went down hard. Embarrassing, but no big deal (or so I thought). I finished out the remaining 13 miles of the ride with some residual soreness, but nothing major. Next morning, as I was getting ready to ride with a different group when I turn the wrong way and heard a loud pop from the hip I'd landed on the day before. The pain was immediate and intense. Long story short, I broke a piece off the top end of my femur, and haven't been cleared to ride by my doctor since.

Arrrrgh!!

My wife fell the first time she used clipless years ago and I have never heard the end of it. (I was standing there and didn't come to her rescue fast enough.) In thinking about it, I don't think I ever have fallen using clipless pedals, but in the old days of deep cleats cinched down tight with Binda straps, oh yeah, and it sucked. You come to a stop and forget to loosen that strap and whammo, down ya go, and was it ever embarrassing. I am a "vintage rider" and I love vintage bikes, but I draw the line with pedals. I would never go back to cleats and toeclips, ever. It is soooo much easier to simply click out in one leg motion than it is to lean over and unstrap so you can then lift the cleat up and out of the pedal.