Crash and Burn

The crash was more of a fall; the burn was my deep blush of embarrassment. When I got my first set of SPD pedals & shoes, the salesman warned me I'd fall. He said it would happen at least once during the learning process. I should practice snapping in & out of the pedals in the doorway, but not to worry about falling with the bike... it would happen.

That was back in November. I practiced in the doorway. I rode on bicycle paths, to avoid the possibility of falling into traffic. Developed a nifty timing for unclipping both feet at the same time, so I didn't set myself off balance. No accidents. Not even any quick saves on the way down. I did keep the "...yet" at the end of any thought about pedal related accident thoughts.

Flash forward to June 18th. I'm on the ladies-only group ride on the Silver Comet Trail. New bike saddle, sitting slightly higher than I'm used to. Add to that the advice from my mechanic about the proper order for unclipping - left foot first, so if ya' fall, you're falling away from the cars. I've been trying to follow that order over the last couple of weeks, since I'm riding on the road more than usual.

The group slows down. I slow down.
The group continues to slow. I unsnap my left shoe.
The group leader stops. I squeeze the breaks, and twist my right shoe to unsnap.
My bike stops. My right shoe stays attached to pedal.
I fall to the right. Off the path.
It wasn't a smooth grassy shoulder at that point. It was just a mini-ditch, just a foot lower than the pavement. But it was rocky.

Cut my hand, scraped open my knee. Banged my shoulder, elbow and hip. Ouch.
Bloo is fine. Got back on the bike, and rode another 15+ miles.
Went back to unsnapping both feet. No more accidents.

It'll take me a couple of days to get the last of the debris out of my hand. I might need to replace the lovely green handlebar tape if the blood doesn't wipe off.

I have a goose egg on my thigh which is roughly the size of a fist. The kids are placing bets on how many colors of the rainbow it will turn during the healing process. My daughter wants to take a picture everyday, so she can make one of those cool time lapse images. I'm considering going along with it.

That's it. My pedal related accident is out of the way. Woo Hoo! No film of mine, so here's someone elses pedal related incident, caught on video.