Owch! Owch! Owch! Owch!

[prolesunited]

Inspired by BigJawn's tale of woe the other day, I decided I needed to get some SPD pedals for my bike. For those not familiar with biking, you basically fasten your specially designed shoe to a little teeny pedal. You can't just lift your foot off the pedal because it's attached. Instead, you just twist you heel outward and it unfastens.

The guy at the bike shop installed the pedals on my bike and stuck me on a trainer so I could practice and gave me some tips. It was a little difficult at first lining up the cleat on the shoe with the slot on the pedal, but it didn't take me too long to get it — or so I thought.

I get to a nice open parking lot to practice in — not doing too bad. Maybe I won't fall after all. Of course, you can guess what happened next. I go to stop, can't get my foot released, and just tip over to the side with my feet attached. I smashed my knee pretty good, skinned my elbow a little and made my hands tingle.

OK, that sucked. Get up to try it again. I'm going to make it work. Clipped one foot in on the downward stroke and lifted the other foot up. Only problem was, the bike didn't move and I fell over again, mercifully maybe, to the other side skinning my other knee. And I'm thinking :wtf: The chain had fallen off after the first fall. D'oh.

But I still persisted. What a sight I must have been in the parking lot. Riding back and forth, starting, stopping, starting again, little rivulets of blood tricking down both legs. Hopefully, it will go better tomorrow.

So now I'm sitting here with band-aids on both of my knees. I guess I'll have to wear a long skirt to work tomorrow. LOL!

[Kenneth ken]

1. LOL

ROFLMAO

LMAOPIMP

I'm sorry, I'm not laughing AT you, I'm laughing WITH you.

:D

okay, I'm really laughing at you - but you made it sound so comical!

[prolesunited]

4. That's OK

I'm laughing at myself, too! Too bad I didn't have someone videotape it. It was like something straight out of "Funniest Home Videos." Would have been even funnier if it wasn't so painful. :D

[wtmusic]

2. It's weird at first

you will grow to like them, I promise (snicker)

[prolesunited]

5. So

does that snicker mean that you DIDN'T fall when first got them.

[rexcat]

3. As you get used to the pedals you can adjust them to

release more easily. I bought a new bike 2 years ago and had spd pedals put on the thing and I fell a couple of times (goes with the territory). Once you get used to them you will never want to go back to pedals with clips!

[prolesunited]

7. Actually, he set them

with the lowest resistance to release. I don't mind the falling too much. I'm a female, so I guess my ego doesn't get as bruised as easily as a male's. ;-) My concern is that I'm doing a ride Sunday in Chicago. I have these visions of crashing a pace line or tumbling into a car. I've got a few more days to practice, so hopefully, I'll be ready.

[Dudley_DUright]

6. Funny story

I did the same thing the first time I tried to ride a bike with shoe cleats on one of those roller trainers (the ones with both wheels free). I though I was doing pretty good until I looked up and my wheels fell off the the rollers. I was so surprised that I forgot to kick out of the pedals and fell over sideways. Once you get use to kicking your heel out sideways to disengage the cleat, you should not have to invest in any more bandaids. :-)

[Bossy Monkey]

8. Neosporin is your friend (n/t)

[prolesunited]

10. Already on there

Thanks! :hi:

[Susang]

9. Oh Honey!

I so feel your pain. I'm constantly bashing myself, even my doctor is suspicious. I had to assure him that Michael doesn't beat me and that I caused each and every bruise that he sees. :-)

[prolesunited]

11. Thanks!

I'm fine now. I just feel silly having skinned knees, just like a little kid. :+

[Susang]

12. I always have some sort of stupid injury

I don't even think I'm that klutzy, I just seem to get hurt more often than other people. The bruises really annoy me since I can never really remember how I got them. If I bump into something, if it doesn't really hurt, I barely notice it.

Anyway, I'm guessing some guys think that whole skinned knee/little girl thing is kinda sexy! :evilgrin:

[prolesunited]

13. Should I tell you about the time

I literally fell out of bed? ;-) Nah. Not sure how guys feel about skinned knees. We'll see.

[XNASA]

14. When I hear, "skinned knees"...........................

Well, falling off a bike isn't the first think I think of.

Susang, you are correct. About guys and skinned knees. I almost feel ashamed to admit it. Almost.

Hope you heal in a hurry, Sharon. Maybe next time you can wear some kneepads......I mean, you know, when you're out riding.....a bike. Of course.

[prolesunited]

16. Thanks for making me laugh!

I think I do have some kneepads laying around...







from when I used to play volleyball. What were the rest of you thinking? :evilgrin:

[catpower2000]

15. You poor thing!

Stupid gadgets! Stupid, stupid things! How dare they hurt you like that? :-(

You heal up fast now, ya hear? :)

Cat :hug:

[prolesunited]

17. Thanks!

I wiped out MUCH worse an my roller blades last year on rocks going down a slight incline. I was barreling into traffic, decided I couldn't stop fast enough so went into a spin to reverse direction, lost my footing on some gravel. Because of the momentum, my feet flew out from under me. Now THAT hurt and I still have the scars to prove it.