Well, I’m for real y’all. I officially have my first cycling injury. Last weekend, a friend tried talking me into getting clips for my pedals. Clips mean your cycling shoes fasten into the pedals, which terrifies the ever loving crap out of me. When I think of cycling with clips, I immediately picture hitting a pot hole, jumping over a curb and flying into a giant tree only the bike flies with me because my feet are clipped into it so when it bounces off the curb and the tree, I bounce too. Of course, I’m fully aware this scenario is ridiculous, but ridiculous can still be terrifying.
The other night, my shoe slipped off the pedal and my ankle caught it as it came back around. Twice.
So it seems I’m official now — an old cyclist with battle scars. 😉
Hope you heal quickly! Ouch! As a child, I rode my bike down a mountain with over inflated tires. I was going so fast that I could barely breathe from the wind in my face and the petals were a blur under me. Your mention of clips gives me chills because of that trauma.
Rooting for you!!
Love and Neosporin,
Lawren
Ouch! I don’t have clips yet, but I do have “baskets”, or the strappy things that you put the front half of your shoe in. I am hoping to get a new bike for my long ride this summer, and will probably get clips on it.
I’ll tell you all about the first time I pull up at a stoplight and fall over sideways because I forgot to unclip… 🙂
I have had more intense cycling accidents clipped in than clipped out. i am AWFUL at clipping out when I need to because my pedals are really tight or something… but they’re on the loosest setting so I don’t really know how that works. Most times if I’m trying to get off the bike and I can’t clip out, I just comically fall to the side when my bike stops. lol!
Three things: (1) Ouch! (2) Haha, rookie! (3) Girl, you’ll be a woman soon.
Clip-in pedals are awesome! Your feet are securely connected to the bike, which makes it easier to pedal efficiently, jump over stuff (like railroad tracks) at full speed, and (every so often) fall down hilariously at low speed. I really recommend them. And I’m a super-huge fan of double-sided clipless pedals like Shimano’s SPD or Speedplay. (The latter are much easier to get into and out of, but are a bit more finicky and don’t work with as many shoes.)
Plus clip-in pedals mean that you get the opportunity to buy extra stuff for you bike, which is really what cycling is all about anyway.