Ok,

My first week with Clipless pedals I was cruising around town, and as I came up to a stoplight, I just started to put a foot down. I was going really slow, and just like in Laugh-In, the guy on the trike just falls over..

That's just what I did, I fell over in slow motion, still with both shoes clipped into the bike. The guys in the truck next to me were laughing so hard, they were crying.

So, I got up and gave them a "Cat Look", you know the "I Meant to Do That", and pedalled home, nothing bruised except my ego.

A friend and I were riding with a local group couple of months ago and we came up to a red light. Now mind you, this is a HUGE intersection with scores of cars lined up in each direction. He and other riders were to my right. As we approached the light he unclipped his left foot, but when he came to a complete stop he forgot to lean left, and instead leaned right (clipped in side). Not only did he fall, but he fell into the adjacent rider, who fell into the next, and the next. Four people were laying on the ground like falling dominos. And the even funnier part was that they were trapped and couldn't get up!! A couple of us had to dismount and help them up one by one. Super embarrassing for them, and probably the funniest thing I have ever seen while cycling!!!

When I was in college everyone was required to take one semester of PE. The school offered a cycling section which I was more than happy to sign up for. I had gotten an early set of SPD's which at the time were still a bit of a novelty on a mountain bike, especially surrounded by a group of new riders. Anyway after the long explanations of the reasons and benefits of using the clipless, and a lot of strange looks, the class was out on the first ride. I had gotten about 50 feet into the ride, had to stop at a stoplight and promptly fell over. At which point I was given even stranger looks and a lot of comments along the lines of "What were the reasons for those pedals again?"

Awesome post!!! 4th-5th ride ever, i come back with no problems at all; stopped a bunch of times, etc; no problems with the pedals...so i'm coasting down my driveway, and my wife opens the front door to yell "your Dad is on the phone and needs to talk to you." I totally lose my concentration, unclip my right pedal (as i've done a 1/2 dozen times all day), but instead lean to the left and topple over in slow motion; my wife couldn't stop laughing....

this thread is awesome ... i'm brand spankin' new to clipless (i usually ride off-road so it's even nuttier) so these stories are priceless. and help me to feel not-quite-as-stupid. :o

Stupid? You want to hear about stupid?

This guy ahead of me tried to take his t-shirt off while riding along, - it was a hot day - but forgot that his helmet was bigger than the headhole. So he is wrestling with this cloth bag over his head, still riding mind you, then he loses direction and veers to the right. He realizes he's going off the road and panics! So he pulls the shirt back down where it's supposed to be, but now he can't get his arm free and loses his balance completely and falls into the dirt. Fortunately he was only going slowly, no harm was done except to his ego.
Don't try this at home!

PoC

Ok, my story starts with me learning to ride my Harley last summer. Second day out I am riding home from practicing at the park-n ride and stop at a light, which happens to be on a hill that slants down to the right. Being the rookie that I was, I put both feet down and over I went in slow motion. Trapped under the bike yelling at my husband to pick it up (NO WAY can I lift it even now) ...not injured, just didnt want to hurt the bike (since it was brand new and we had just dropped cash for it) So a lady drives up and stops and asks if I need an ambulance..."NO!" she of course continued to insist that she needed to call the ambulance.."Hello I was not in motion lady." Then she says "man that looks like a new bike".... DUHHHHH

Flash forward to this spring ...

I am riding my new bike in the neighborhood with clipless pedals. flying down the same hill, and my little yellow meshy thing flys out of my aerodrink container. I try tostop to get it and of course forget to unclip and over I go, pratically in the same place as the motorcycle incident almost a year ago to the day. Guess what lady stops behind me to ask if I am ok?? Yup you guessed it, and of course she offered the ambulance call, which I declined. Can you imagine how stupid I felt????

Just got my bike this last July and of course got the clipless pedals the same day... mind you, I've never been on a road bike and have only ridden stationary bikes since I was like 15!! So this is all new to me.... I crashed so many times, my kids and their friends call me 'crash' for a nickname!!

So the first time I go for a ride by myself, with out hubby, I am so nervous... I get to this hill and because I'm not sure how to change gears even, I have to walk it up... then I think, oh come on!! Get on the damn bike and ride you wimp!! So I get on, I'm clipped in, and am trying to go uphill, the chain slips and you guessed it, down I go.... but I fall into a rocky ditch and slide the whole way down.... Nice road rash and I'm gushing blood all down my leg! I finally get up, get on and ride the rest of the way home, feeling like a totally idiot!! I'm riding through town, go by a park full of moms and kids and they are all gawking at me because my leg is so bloody! I ride into the driveway and of course I have a house full of teenagers!!! That's the day I got my nickname!! Was picking tiny little rocks out of my leg for days!!!

Glad to say, I'm much better now... albeit, not completely confident on stopping and starting still!!!
Nice to know we are not alone!!

'Crash'

Great post! Second or third time out w/my new pedals on an old, "renovated" bike I'd bought used a few years ago. I was trying to pass a mail truck that had stopped to deliver some mail, obviously. Got too close to the back of his truck.... I slowed down, thought he'd go... he thought I'd go.... we both did a couple false starts.... I fell over as I was running into the mail truck as he smashed his brakes. He got out of his truck to laugh at me, obviously. We both had a good laugh :)

O.k., so i'm riding home from work on the bus, and as we approach an intersection I look out the window to see a cyclist down beside the bus. As i / we all do i'm checking out the bike, when i notice the rider puts his hand out onto a small 3-foot high road sign so that he didn't have to unclip and put his feet down as he stopped at the intersection. Seems like a good idea right? I've done it a few times myself with a well positioned lamp post. Well unfortunately for this poor fellow the road sign was on a spring and it folded over as he put his weight onto it (so that it would fold over and bounce up again if someone drove their car over it). Down he went. Fully clipped into his pedals in the middle of a busy intersection. He got up o.k. after wigglying out of his pedals and although a bit red in cheeks continued on his ride. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel really sorry for guy - talk about bad luck.

I've had my share of turtles too. Mostly at gates when i was first learning with clipless on my Mtn Bike. I think turtle turns (or SPD crashes) are a right of passage for any cyclist :p

Great catch BIGNEW, just pluck her off the road and put her back on the wheels. heh.

Okay, a non-falling off anecdote.

In my first OLympic distance Triathlon, I rode my SEARS Dept. store 12-speed - 27 inch tires - I didn't bother taking the rear bike rack off.
I finished last.
BUT I won a door prize - a pair of LOOK pedals worth $210 back in 1993.

I bought bike shoes and was so excited I had to put the pedals on the bike and try them out. It was great, but I laugh now, at riding down the road in brand-new SIDI shoes and LOOK pedals, together worth $400, on a bike I couldn't get $50 for if I tried to sell it!

and yeah I fell over a few times before I worked it out.

Geoff

I thought I'd be smart and practice up and down my driveway before venturing out onto the road. Husband standing nearby, clipped one food in and proceeded to fall over on that side unable to get that foot out, crashed newish bike, gashed calf on chainring etc etc. hadn't even moved an inch!!! Proceeded to deal with the situation in the most adult manner I could muster which included (after extricating myself from the heap!!) stomping off inside the house, and bawling my eyes out like a baby followed by such utterings as "I'll never get the hang of this, never.." Needless to say it provided entertainment for my husband and I did manage to get the hang of it with help from this board actually...