Everything you need to know about falling in a nutshell:

Ermergerd.

I think I might pay to watch somebody fall off a bike this way.

Had the same thing happen to me on Sunday. Car at a intersection with no blinker on turned left at the last second and I had to slam on the brakes and I could not get unclipped fast enough and down I went.

^ They teach bike cops to fall in exactly that way. They make 'em purposely fall on pavement. Keep your hands on the bars, pull your elbows in, tuck your chin. If it's a crash, you can try to get the side of your helmet on the pavement and use it to keep your bod a little lighter on the pavement. Many solo crashes happen due to a seam or unevenness in the pavement or not crossing tracks square enough. Watch for that! Most group crashes happen due to a wheel touch. They say you haven't learned to ride a motorcycle until you've been down 6 times. Cyclists don't wear leathers, though.

Tell you about falling? Well... it hurts. And almost everyone will tell you that it's part of the sport. And one mo wiofhaojfol sls




... OUCH!!!

Don't text and bike... lol (?) I know, corny.

Isaac Newton was right.

Yep, right of passage. Fell twice so far getting use to my Speed plays. My first ride to work with them I decided to ride from the parking lot acoss the grass to the door of my office . Decided to ride between two cars to get to the grass. At the last minute as I turned to go between the cars I had a moment of clarity and realized that might not be such a good idea as there wasn't much room. Tried to unclip as I made the turn and fell over in slow motion. And yes 3 people arriving, coffees in hand watching the clown act. Just had to laugh. The second time I read another post here about practicing unclipping either foot instead of always pushing off on the same foot at every stop. By now I was pretty good at only unclipping my left foot so I could push off on my stronger right leg. First time I stopped at an intersection and unclipped the right foot,I didn't take in to consideration the road was pitched to the left. Lost my balance and tipped over. Yep two cars arrived at the four way just then. One pretty girl asked if I was ok. Said yes just hurt my pride. She laughed. The other car was an elderly women who wanted to know if I needed to call for assistance. Now that I got that out of my system, I've ridden several hundred miles with many stops incident free.

You'll get better, just like we did. Just make sure *when* it happens you make it look like no big deal and like you meant to fall over!

I'm with Canadian Giant ... it seems to happen to me with no obvious rhyme or reason. I probably fell a few times the first year then went a couple of years without any. Guess what? One year, I fell over like three times (!!!) in pretty quick succession. Been a few years since and I've been able to stay upright (excluding one car / bike incident that was every bit as embarrassing as tipping over but I digress).

Maybe both.

Crashing usually indicates that you've run into something or someone, or have skidded wildly on slippery pavement.

Falling is more like toppling over from a stopped or near-stopped condition.

dang!

I remember falling three times.
First was when I was in 4th grade. I rode a crappy walmart bike, and went out one day on a flat rear tire without realizing it, until I ate dirt when I made a hard corner. Even today, I still have a hard time cornering turns, out of paranoia that there's sand or something, and that I'll slip.
Second time was in college. I was sort of speeding on the sidewalk, but had to move down to the grass because a couple was walking, taking up the whole sidewalk. When I pass them to get back up to the sidewalk, the tire got trapped on the small curb between the grass and concrete, and I fell... HARD. The two jerks just glanced at me, and looked the other way. But someone else helped me up. I have two scars on knee and elbow to prove it.
Third time was out of stupidity. I was coming home from work recently, and had to merge into traffic. But had to stop because there were too many cars. But I had toe straps on, and couldn't get my foot free. But luckily there was a nice, soft piece of lawn taking my fall. Ironically, I wouldn't have fell had I been using clipless pedals, because all it takes is a twist of the foot.

I learned something each time. But never fell on clipless... yet. I'm proud of that.

I like to use

E=mc^2 + pancakes

It's a little easier to remember.

So what's the secret to building speed? Do I have to work out and train, cause I'm not going to do that I just enjoy riding. In the past two years I've logged right at 9k miles. You'd think the legs would have gotten some stronger, but my average speed is no faster today than a year ago. In the moderate hills of middle Tennessee, I average around 14.5 MPH. Faster the first hour, slower the last. I'd love to get that up to 17 or 18. Hopefully the new drop bar bike and clipless pedals (which I've not used together yet) will be some help. And then more time...

Practice to avoid "clip falls". Lighten the settings on your clipless pedals to allow a decent hold but a quick, easy release while you are in the "learning stage". Practice often...practice coming to a stop and unclipping one foot before the stop. Practice quick, unexpected stops. Continue until it becomes part of your muscle memory system.

Be "road aware"...always be looking ahead when you ride. Most "unexpected" situations are not as unexpected as they may seem if you have a better awareness practice. You can hear a vehicle coming from behind you from a decent way back so you can make sure you have room on the right if needed. You should be looking down the road in front of you for debris, potholes, cracks, etc. as well as stationary vehicles, dogs in yards...except for the sneaky buggers that hide...intersections, etc.

Most falls are due to lack of attention, not knowing when you're crossing the contact threshold, etc. Sand on the road, even in a corner, does not cause a crash when the rider is aware and thinking ahead.
Learn to ride "relaxed". It is not as easy as it sounds and not often natural...being a tense rider results in many crashes.

You will go faster as your legs and lungs get stronger. It really is as easy as that but the doing...oh brother can that be hard...How fast you can go depends on what you're willing to put into it. If you are a "I just want to enjoy the ride" person who really cares about how fast you go. Just enjoy the ride. If you want to get a bit faster but don't want the regimented workout many of us use then use a running training tool called "fartlek"...while running at normal pace you increase the pace at varied times, periods of time, intensity of effort on a whim rather than a plan...maybe on a short/long hill on your loop you can pick up the pace a bit while remaining seated and getting out of the saddle for ten pedal strokes every ten pedal strokes...ten seated/ten standing...increase you rpm's until you are breathing hard then hold that pace for ten pedal strokes...stuff like that can make a ride more interesting than just cruising along at the same old pace all the time...you change hand and seat positions allowing more blood flow into areas that get less while in one position, you use different muscle groups giving others a rest for a bit, you gradually increase muscle strength, lung stamina and raise your pain/discomfort threshold slowly while enjoying the "push".

It is very important to ride relaxed. Check yourself to see if your elbows are bent...bent, relaxed elbows allow for a more comfortable ride and faster reaction time when needed. Make sure your shoulder and neck muscles are relaxed. Think about it while you ride and double check...tense muscles cause discomfort and again hinder quick reactions as well as reducing the ride enjoyment factor.

When I coached a junior racing team I'd always start the season by taking my team to the park and practicing rolls from a standing and walking positions. We'd also practice how to fall from a bike to minimize damage to the shoulder, collar bone and wrists. I'd set up a short oval using traffic cones and we'd practice wheel rubbing, pushing and shoving, thigh rubbing on straights and cornering. The last person standing won the event...this was all done on the grass at slow speeds. The drills are designed to teach body position, how to recover, comfort in tight/difficult situations, recovery from a front wheel overlap, hooked handlebars, overlapping elbows hehehe, shouldering and proper technique when falling.
My riders were very skilled at handling at did very well at local, regional and national events...especially in the crits. It was also a ton of fun. This was done on our beater bikes...didn't care about dents, dings, etc...badges of honor.

While you probably don't want to do this...I don't at age 57...you can practice riding side by side with a friend and rubbing thighs or just riding close to increase your riding skills. Do it at slower speeds on safe roads or better yet ride on the grass through a park, etc. Riding is and should be fun.

Now get out there and ride.

OP- you might also peer in to the 50+ forum. Over there, your falling experience is known as joining Club Tombay. Most everybody does it.

I'm 51 and ride in hilly southern KY.- [I use straps- not clipless]- Started riding a year ago. I didn't seem to be making any improvement in speed for the first 9 months- but during the winter, I bought an indoor spin bike and started doing Tabata drills [Google it] and speed increased IMMEDIATELY on the road bike!! [You don't need a spin bike to do Tabata drills- you can do them on you bicycle (in a quiet area or big parking lot; etc.) or running, etc.].

It sounds easy. It's not. But it's over with fast...and I can not believe the difference it has made! Not only am I faster...but it made the hills a lot easier- and I'm now riding a standard double instead of the triple I started with.

Give it a try- you'll see results in a week or two- and it'll cost you nothing- and will build your cardio and lung capacity like nobody's business!

[QUOTE=Kai Winters;15586854

Big snip.

Now get out there and ride.[/QUOTE]
Thanks, Kai. I appreciate the time you took for your helpful reply. Actually, there is a lot of good info here. The Tabata thing looks intriguing, too, and I may try a set of those and see how miserable that makes me

Good news, I rode 50 yesterday and no falls. Yea!

I've crashed a few times and stopped doing the things that made me crash (jumping RR tracks with a loaded touring bike, in a pace line with inexperienced riders who jammed the brakes and dropped all).

The MUP where I ride gets wind blown sand on asphalt at beach approach roads and that is slick thus those areas require attention. Then there are dogs, kids, joggers, and pedestrians. I slow for all because they don't know the rules of the road, don't leash dogs, wander all over the place. I've crashed off road twice to avoid a collision. I went to morning and evening rides to avoid the people.

I always tuck and roll. My MTB has SPD clips set loose, they release reasonably quick. My road bikes have TIME Criterium clipless and they aren't particularly quick to release. Old school clips set barely snug are super easy to get out of.

Wow, you guys are making my feel bad. I went clipless about two months ago and have probably fallen 8-10 times since. Both ankles, knees, and elbows have had seemingly permanent raspberries. I never fell once before going clipless.

Clip out BEFORE you come to a complete stop, unless you're an expert at track stands.

Try and avoid it.

Ewwww. That hair is going cause all kinds of infection.

Yup, should of shaved it. Actually no infections though I should have thrown in a few sutures.

Dude, what the heck did you do?! I want to be sure to avoid this if at all possible

If you crash, do your shoes come out of the pedals?