Don’t Try This At Home (Or At All)!

This morning I wasn’t feeling 100%, but needed to get out and ride for an hour or so.  On the way out to the parking lot to clip in and set off, my neighbors were in the parking lot getting ready to leave for a Saturday outing.  I stopped to chat for a bit, and stupidly had one cleat clipped into my pedals.  I use Crank Brothers pedals that kind of look like this:

You “clip in” by attaching the metal cleat on the bottom of your shoe to the pedal.  This allows you to ride more efficiently.  I don’t know if you notice when you ride a bike how your foot comes off the pedal at times.  Well, the next time you’re riding a bike (and you don’t use cleats) take notice of the number of times your shoe comes off the pedal (even a little bit).  Well, these fancy-pants cleats are supposed to glue you to your pedal so you when you “mash down” or “crank up” while riding,  you using your legs more efficiently on your ride. You do ride faster and smoother with cleats, but there’s a downside to these things:   you can easily lose your balance when stopped– even if you have one cleat still clipped in.

Well, I had one cleat clipped in, and while talking to my neighbors, I started to lose my balance and went right over.  There’s noting you can do but enjoy the fall.  My right knee took some of fall, but it didn’t hurt all that much.  I got up, explained that this happens when you clip in and forget to keep all your weight on shoe that’s not clipped in, and then after a bit more conversation, I went for my ride.  The more I rode, the less painful my knee was.  However, by the time I got home, my knee was really throbbing (and bleeding) I washed off the wound, took some ibuprofen, complained to Julie and Maya and then planted myself on the couch and iced it for about 20 minutes.  Finally, I got up and took a shower —  and I think the combination of cold, heat, and drugs helped a lot.

Anyway, the moral of the story is this:  if you’re “clipped in” don’t forget ’cause gravity will remind you with a nice thud.