Clipless off moment

Karma came back and bit me on the butt today, for laughing at other people collapsing like sacks of spuds whilst trying to get out of clipless pedals.
My 12 year old went to his first road racing training session today, and it was also his first outing with Look clipless roadie pedals. Now he had practiced on the Turbos but while practising on the circuit he came to a standstill before unclipping……time stood still for me the dad as I saw him face plant the kerb in double slow motion. I ran over to see him bleeding and crying, that’s the end of racing then I thought. But bless him he got back on and got stuck in.
Think I’ll fit him out with Eggbeaters and MTB shoes instead.

Did that outside a pub in the middle of Ambleside…in front of about 50 drinkers once…mortification!!

Did it outside a LittleChef, one foot clipped in and the other slowly slipping away from me on the worlds slipiest floor, not a good look.

Riding along a creek last Spring I unclipped my right foot and tried to put the left one down. Waist-deep in March, lovely 🙂

Did it in town on my first outing on SPD’s, fell over onto the pavement at traffic lights right next to an old dear who offered to help me get up, not too funny at the time but can laugh about it now.
Get him to persevere with them though as they are brilliant and I won’t ride without them now.

fell off outside a school while they were leaving for the day, before the invention of clipless, so was srapped in- and couldnt get to the straps to get myself out!!
much hillarity for the little angels

Do you remember powergrips? Used to jam my feet in there and twsit to kep them in there, pulling up to a Spar one day, hit pedal on the kerb and over I went in front of a crowd of girls. In a heap on the floor with bleeding knees trying to get up – do you think I could get my fet out of them? No. Did the girls laugh? Yes. Did my freinds laugh? Yes Did anyone help? No!

This is one of those cycling moments that’s so common it’s barely worth a mention. Tell him we’ve all done it.

For me, I was at the end of a long ride on and around the SDW. A long descent back to the car park next to a pub with a busy beer garden, i had the hammer down milking the remaining drops out of the altitude from the last big climb I’d done. As I reached the car park and eased off to coast, both legs seized solid with cramp. Lacking the presence to stop by a wall, or a signpost, I rolled to a halt grimacing in the car park in front of about a dozen ramblers and a garden full of early evening drinkers. Each and every one thinking the same – ‘why doesn’t he put his foot down?’

I toppled slowly over as gracefully as you can and to my horror, even that impact failed to unclip me. So now I’m lying on the floor, still cramped up with the same assorted onlookers all now captivated by this display. After what seemed like several lifetimes of gawping, eventually I managed to release myself and silently got up, loaded the bike onto the car and drove off. In my mind at least – I daren’t look – as I drove out of the car park there were still drinkers with glasses frozen halfway to their lips in bewilderment at what they’d just seen.