Scare Goats

I finally took the plunge (literally) and bought cycle shoes and clips. I looked over at my riding buddy, Allan at the head of the trail and, said: “Here goes”…and fell over. I didn’t even get onto the trail. I just plopped over like one of those scare goats you see at the zoo. BTW, scare goats’ legs seize up when danger is near. They can’t move, so they topple over onto the ground. Obviously, at this point the predator animal starts laughing so hysterically at this absurd behavior, that they forget that they where there to attack and eat the goat so they merely move on looking for food that will actually try to defend itself. See them here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_3Utmj4RPU.

While I was falling, I remember the salesperson at the cycle shop tell me that with clips I’ll learn how to “anticipate the fall”. Well…I didn’t see it coming. Nor did I anticipate it the next 20 times, either. Once we actually made it onto the trail, I fell…a lot.

At one turn, some joggers (they like to call themselves runners) came around the corner and startled me. When normally I would nod, jig around them while pulling a wheelie while looking cool in my cool clothes- with clips, I fell down. Surprise. They surrounded me as joggers will do when they find a defenseless, downed biker. I’m lying on the ground still on the bike AND STILL COULDN”T GET MY SHOES OUT OF THE CLIPS!
Picture this: I am on the ground with both feet still in the pedals shaking my legs back and forth like a…well, like a scare goat.