I REALLY need to stop falling off..

Ouch Seb not so happy days ....
Trust me as you get older it takes longer to heal
Love the slow mo ....

Nasty, where was this?

Ouch!

Chicks dig scars though

If you're not falling off, you're not trying hard enough

But falling off can also stop you trying hard enough! It does make for a few nervous next moments, and that itself will act as a magnet for an 'I can't manage this bit, I'd better stop right here and fall off now' moment.

I am heartened by this thread to know it's not just me (of course I knew that, but sometimes it does feel like you've been an especially useless plonker!)

And looking at the scenery is not easy to avoid when you're in the middle of one of our islands' many eye-twistingly spectacular wild places. It just pays to remember that slowing down a wee bit when out on the wild trails has many benefits, not least of which is taking true delight in being out in that fantastic landscape, and not forgetting that these moments may be unrepeatable experiences... When the ride, the scenery, the weather and of course the company combine to that special effect.

I fell off 4 times on the first day of my recent scottish trip. Mostly of the comical otb into a smelly bog type, some of the 'I bet I can squeeze through those narrow boulders, because THEY did' type. None of those did serious damage but each one added a new pedal bite and other scrapes and bruises which all added together to piss me off and get angry with myself for doing stupid stuff. So eventually when I was slowly 'scooting' the bike across another water gully I was probably careless, short-tempered and lazy. I should have completely dismounted and lifted the bike across. Instead of which I plunged sideways and fell three feet down into the gully dragging the bike and pedals down my shin yet again. Filling it with mud and spraying it in more smelly bog water for the next hour or so was also inevitable. If this happens again, I will find a Minor Injuries or A&E unit before I carry on riding the next day. But far better to avoid it.



So, which way now SPD's or shin guards!? 

Graham ...or both !
The other main disadvantage of flat pedals ..especially on really narrow rocky singletrack is the actual width of them ..and the chance of a pedal strike to help you on your way !
People over the years have been constantly telling me to change to flats ...not a bloody hope in hell !
If you are going to change to clip ins ..I can't recommend Time pedals too much ...I have had them for the last ten years and the advantage over Shimano is the fact that it does allow more foot movement .

That was a week ago, but still four days after I'd done it. Swelling has almost all gone now but the wound still not healing over. No serious infection though. Hope to be out with the North Pennines tour tomorrow... hope is the word... shhhhh!

I cobbled a shin guard together from bubble wrap CD envelopes gaffer taped together went for a ten miler but they don't breathe, so the dressing started to get sweaty and peeling. No good. So will just be tubular bandage, long socks and leggings.

Rather than spend daft money on proper shinguards (mtb shinguards which means you pay double) I've still got a set of football shinpads from when I played, I reckon they'd do the job - worn under long sealskinz. I'll give them a goo I reckon.

Well I try really hard so that must mean....oh 

You're not wrong there 
Just in case people think that means I was being a perv - no I wasn't.

We were going along on a cheeky trail, when it literally became a cheeky trail - up ahead was a bloke, long white hair and walking stick, stark, bollock naked apart from a backpack.  Luckily he heard us approaching and pulled his skirt down (yes, that's right, his SKIRT) which he had rolled up under the backpack.

I think it affected me in a bad way as I fell off twice during the ride after this 'sight'.

The things you see when you ain't got your gun.  

Funny after but I'll be honest I was wondering what was going to happen, bit nervous approaching him - I thought he might be a nutter with a huge chopper in his hand or something...