4. How to rebuild cycling confidence after a fall
Problem: I’m not cycling very often because I’m scared of falling off my bike.
Solution: buy some new (and cheap) flat pedals until I build my confidence up again.
Every year in January I create goals for the year. One of my goals this year was to bike 2,500 miles.
In February, I was off to a hot start. I bought my first bike and had found a few routes around the city that I liked. I did my first 40 mile ride. I went on rides with friends. For a while I was going 4+ times per week.
My goal was 2,500 miles, which breaks down to about 48 miles per week if you ride every week. I’ve learned this isn’t that hard: people often do single rides that are longer than 48 miles. Plus, cycling is only hard when you’re going uphill. If it’s flat, it’s actually a very efficient way of traveling (thus making it not difficult).
In these early months, I was riding many more than 48 miles. I was on my way to meet my goal.
But at the end of February, I took a fall. I was riding by myself up in Marin. I rode up Hawk Hill and was coming down the back side. Probably going too fast, I came around a corner and a gust of wind tipped me off balance. I fell - still moving - and my right hip hit the ground and created the friction for me to eventually stop.
I didn’t break any bones, and besides a few scars, my body was back to normal within a month. But now I had felt what is was like to lose control and take a fall.
Since then, cycling hasn’t been the same for me. I still go out, just a lot less. This is a problem given my goal: in a good week these days I’ll do 25 miles, and most weeks I don’t do any.
As of May 18th, I’ve ridden 604 miles, 345 miles behind pace for a 2,500-mile year.
If I’m being honest with myself, I’m not biking as much because I’m still afraid to fall. If I’m being honest with myself again, I know that after many more hours riding on the bike, my confidence will come back. The key is getting those repetitions in.
I solved this problem today by buying regular bike pedals. You might be thinking, Adam why didn’t you have regular bike pedals before? almost every component of a bike can be swapped out with other ones. This includes the pedals. Serious cyclists use what are “clipless pedals” which is a horrible name considering their defining feature is that you clip your shoes into them (very similar to ski boots).
The issue with clipless pedals is sometimes they don’t un-clip when you want them to. If you lose your balance, and you’re still clipped in, you fall over because you can’t catch yourself with your legs.
While I’ve gotten good at un-clipping my pedals, I still feel sorta like I’m strapped into a pair of stilts when I’m riding my bike. This isn’t good when there are 30 mph winds gusting on Golden Gate Bridge.
So today on my way home I stopped at Sports Basement and re—purchased some flat pedals (usable with normal shoes). They were $16.99.
In some sense, it’s a regression: I no longer get the riding efficiency benefits of clipless pedals. But, they give me the best chance of completing my goal of riding 2,500 miles because they give me the confidence to get back on the bike.