{"id":230434,"date":"2025-10-28T16:51:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/230434\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T16:51:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:51:12","slug":"i-have-ridden-30000km-in-the-last-five-years-and-i-still-managed-to-fall-off-my-bike-at-a-red-light-were-all-the-same-as-cyclists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/230434\/","title":{"rendered":"I have ridden 30,000km in the last five years and I still managed to fall off my bike at a red light \u2013 we\u2019re all the same as cyclists"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a few things that bind all cyclists together. There\u2019s the general fear of drivers,<\/a> that comes with years spent on the roads; there\u2019s the make-do-and-mend attitude to repair and cleaning<\/a>, and the tell-tale chain tattoo; and there is the appreciation that a bike ride can fix almost anything<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To this, add the feeling that you are about to fall over<\/a>. No matter who you are, no matter how often you cycle, there is, on the horizon, the eternal possibility that you might lose your balance and hit the floor. When you\u2019re clipped in<\/a>, this multiplies much further, obviously. It\u2019s a constant risk. Changed pedals or cleats<\/a>? Your heart is probably in your mouth. I\u2019m not talking about genuine crashes, but those slow-motion embarrassments that we\u2019ve all seen, and experienced. In fact, I don\u2019t think I believe you if you\u2019re a clipped-in cyclist who claims to have never fallen over. It\u2019s an embarrassing rite of passage.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To tell the truth, though, I thought the days of falling over were behind me. Call it hubris or complacency, but I hadn\u2019t toppled over since the beginning of 2020, pre-pandemic. That time, I was relatively new to cleats and cycling up hills, and I tried to clip in heading onto a 8% climb. It didn\u2019t last long. That wasn\u2019t the first time, though, before I got used to the constant unclipping that comes with riding in a city, I had my fair share of bumps. Nothing ever serious, although my bike probably didn\u2019t appreciate it.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Since then, I\u2019ve kept cycling to the extent it has become an indivisible part of my personality, 30,000km, more or less. These days, when I glide up to a traffic light, I rarely feel the terror that I might be about to go sideways, but there is sometimes that little worry, the sticky cleat, the speed reducing too fast. I\u2019m certainly not a track stand guy.<\/p>\n

\"AdamAdam Becket<\/p>\n

Social Links Navigation<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a>News editor<\/p>\n

News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here<\/a>. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com<\/a> – should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.<\/p>\n

However, the inevitable happened last Wednesday. After a rainy evening ride with my club<\/a>, I was on my way home, thankfully alone, when I stopped at a red light. This is when it gets weird. I was clipped out, I think \u2013 I always clip out with my left foot \u2013 and my foot was on the ground. Somehow, and I\u2019m going to blame my ankle which is still healing from being broken, I managed to fall over on my right side, bang. People talk of your life flashing before your eyes when you\u2019re in mortal danger, but in this very unthreatening moment, everything slowed. It was probably the slowest falling over ever seen, and then I was on the ground.<\/p>\n

I picked myself up, the bike was fine following it\u2019s momentary coming together with the ground, and turned round to watch the driver of an SUV<\/a> shaking his head at me. Clearly, not a cyclist. I shrugged and continued on my way, up the hill home. The only evidence of it happening at all was the blood coming out of the smallest graze on my knee \u2013 why do knees bleed so much? \u2013 which was soon sorted out by a shower. Oh, and my ego had been bruised.<\/p>\n

Why does all of this matter? Well, it\u2019s a good point, unless you\u2019re an Adam Becket completist. The truth is, apart from the shock of hitting the ground, and a bit of my knee left on a road in Bristol, it was a helpful learning experience. A reminder that however good at cycling you think you might be, you can still find the tarmac rushing up towards you, if you forget to balance for a moment.<\/p>\n

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, I helped a friend get used to riding in cleats, something completely new to her, and I was very reassuring about how rarely you end up falling over. I probably also couldn\u2019t really compute how you could fall over, the whole thing being so second nature to me these days.<\/p>\n

Now, though, I get it. I\u2019ll stop taking for granted that I can just clip in and out with ease, and try to actually concentrate. It was also useful to remember that we are all just the same as cyclists, going through the same things. A rider in the Tour de France<\/a> has to clip out less, sure, but I\u2019m certain that the odd pro has stacked it on the roads of Girona<\/a>. It happens to the best of us.<\/p>\n

For a sport and activity so full of ego, snobbery about how you look and ride, and barriers at every level, falling over is a good way of being reminded that we\u2019re all just people on bits of metal trying to have fun. Maybe we\u2019re not beginners anymore, but we\u2019re all still learning. Let\u2019s have more sympathy for each other as cyclists, even if me falling over is undeniably funny, especially when I don\u2019t break my ankle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com<\/a>, or comment below.<\/p>\n


\n