learning to fall and gettin use to it

[Fixed]

bro when fallin do you cats keep everything in tight like head arms this works good when falling sideways but i can't get the hang of what happens when i go over the h.bars i hate that one
cheers
bro I pull next to a blond in a bimmer she's like staring at my....bike i am track standing next to her then she ask me a question i look up and bang i'm down ....yeah I'm a looser so what.
happy holidays

[Ginger]

Over the bars?

Don't reach out. Relax.
Tuck and roll.

Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't.

[Fixed]

my head always gets it ..at least it's not some place i use
cheers

[Too Tall]

in the car...you fall in the car...call me.

try to hit the the windshield. it looks cool and tends to be the most cozy part of any car. if its a cross walk trackstand incident... reach for the girl's boobs.. any nearby pedestrian girl or fellow rider. its the only legit place to find a decent perch and hey.. why not.
if its road riding... just get it over with.. relax, and don't let go of the bars unless the bike is ripped out from you.. because that's how you keep your collar bone from snapping (as taught to me by ryan lane.. so far it worked).

and you know.. the bike goes where you look.. so don't look at the truck coming in from the other lane and keep her up... like your were just kidding about crashing. its amazing how much stuff you can ride out of by gassing it instead of checking up.


if you're overshooting a turn and a tasty hard descent... i find hitting the front door of the house is not really a good idea. its much better to try and skid along side a parked car in the driveway and deflect back into the road. they build some houses right next to the road and just off of the bad line you took to avoid the water.

its never very sexy is it?

[Blue Jays]

bro don't extend arms or legs because that's asking for an injury bro.
keep everything tucked and tight and roll to protect the head if at speed on the street.

[cadence231]

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/im...en-Posters.jpg

[GregL]

1) Get some martial arts training. The first thing you learn is how to fall. I slipped on some ice while visiting family over Thanksgiving. The old instincts kicked in and I landed very nicely on my back, distributing the force of the fall over a large expanse of pavement. Got up without a bump, bruise, or ache. The same training and experience will help in cycling crashes.

2) For anyone planning on racing, attend a good race training seminar through a cycling club or team. In one I attended, we practiced bumping and falling at slow speed in a grassy field. It was a great learning experience.

Like we used to say in my flying days, "if you are going to crash, crash successfully..." Thankfully, I never had to heed that particular advice!

Regards,
Greg

[KJMUNC]

Originally Posted by swoop

don't let go of the bars unless the bike is ripped out from you....

I always found going down with the bike resulted in a lot less injury than the guys I saw taking a leap.....and I'd much rather oversteer and just lay it down than overshoot a turn and deal with the guardrail/tree/ditch/etc.

Road rash heals a lot faster than broken bones and I'll take a little top tube dent over snapped fork/frame/hospital visit anyday.

[3chordwonder]

OK, so would everybody here agree that holding onto the handlebars when you know you're about to go down is by far the best option?

I guess in most scenarios it'll force you to tuck up so it could make sense.

Holding onto the bars is something I could potentially remember to do when the split second moment arrives. But in the real world, rolling properly as per what I was taught 15 years ago in ju jitsu class is not something I'll have time for with my low level of coordination.

Plus I can imagine it's hard to maintain that nice rolling form and land upright on your feet like it used to go in class when you still have a large bicycle attached to your shoes.

[lemonlaug]

I was a wannabe track-stander until I finally bit it one day. Bruised my ego, but realizing that the worst-case scenario wasn't too bad definitely had me killing it the next day.

"I say hurl. If you blow chunks and she comes back, she's yours. But if you spew and she bolts, then it was never meant to be."

crashes are like snow flakes... no two are alike but so many seem like the same.
the first lesson of crashing is.. you know, sometimes you don't have to crash.
the second is.. its amazing how you can save it by unclipping, not panicking and having an out. this includes vaulting over a barrier. its a kind of crash surfing you learn from stupid crits.

the third is.. really don't even look at it, because somehow where you look is a tractor beam.

windhields really do soften the blow.

keeping your eyes open is smart because sometimes you can find the soft place or keep from bringing others down.

and yes finally.. don't let go of the bars. that's old timer crit wisdom. your knuckles will hate you but your collarbone will love you.


but the biggest things .. don't crash unless you have to. its ike defensive driving.. there's usually a line out.

except for the usual.. all the sudden you're upside down heading for a tree and it happened so fast .. that you're screwed and i hope you don't get hurt real real bad or die. because we all have to face that it could happen any time.

[Ginger]

You know mountain bikers...

other than tuck and roll, the other fairly graceful method of dealing with an endo I've seen used successfully several times by several different people is to hold on to the handlebars initially, unclip, and jump through your arms over the bar and run out in front of the bike. You've got to remember to run, otherwise the rear of the bike whacks you in the head. (Nothing worse than to successfully get off the bike like that and suffer the humiliation of the crash anyhow)


Me, I endo too fast to be doing the acrobatic stuff. I keep everything tucked in and instead do my best to somersault.

I agree with those who say to keep moving forward. momentum is a wonderful thing at times.

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by swoop

"...because somehow where you look is a tractor beam..."

Also known as target fixation among motorcyclists. It's the surest way to hit a parked car, a pothole, or a police cruiser with flashing lights at the side of the road.
On mountainbikes, riders focus on rocks, logs, and other obstacles and simply steer right into them. The important thing is to peer where you wish to go and the bicycle will go there.

[zogvee]

I completely agree that you should try to stay with the bike. It prevents the bike from pulling off a sneak attack as was alluded to earlier (I think my bike secretly yearns to pummel me.) Besides, pictures of someone laying in the middle of the road in lycra for no apparent reason elicit laughter; where as, pictures of someone twisted into the frame of a bike elicit sympathy.

As for flying over the handle bars...go to your happy place until you no longer hear yourself screaming.