beaten by my kids at garden croquet, had a can of Fossies (just one actually), decommissioned race bike for another year, family walk in the afternoon, had to pry eyelids open with matchsticks
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can buy them on ebay now 
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It’s a rite of passage. Everyone falls over once when they’re learning to unclip from clip-less pedals!
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I used my parachute training (I have no parachute training) to shape my body like a curve and as I toppled at a mini roundabout, rolled elegantly onto my back with the bike (still attached) in the air. Classy. 
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Well once I cycled to the leisure centre for evening training with the running club. There were about 40 people standing outside waiting to start. Saw a group of mates, pulled up to a stop, and immediately toppled over sideways onto the tarmac in front of them.
Had been using clipless for about 20 years by this point too, but apparently it’s never too late to forget you are clipped in.
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First time I came off with clipless was on a mixed use path with a gate at the end that you could just about squeeze through slowly if your feet were free. Mine of course weren’t and as I came to a stop realised that too late and just toppled sideways onto some grass so had a soft landing.
Only takes a few falls before you get used to unclipping at times - just in case
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about a week before lockdown V1 (some 15 years+ of clipless riding) my buckle snapped on my shoe when riding my fixie in heavy traffic as I tried to unclip so ankle moved not shoe!. topped sideways. Ended up properly battered, cuts, bruised all down the thigh, destroyed a pair of bib longs, a pair of socks (ankle bone took a bash), top had hole in. I was literally coming to a standstill and still have no idea how so much of my clothing got so badly torn.
my first ever one was i was cut up by a car couldn’t unclip as I braked, fell sideways and ended up leaning against one of those yellow rubbish bins and i was just stuck, unable to unclip and leaning there unable to push myself back up in some odd position off balance. Time stood still as i was almost certain I was going fully over, but got the shoe out just about.
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I’ve only fallen once due to being clipped in. Mountain biking in winter and mud and water had frozen in the pedal/cleat and it was impossible to unclip. I had to remove my feet from my shoes in the end to untangle myself. Oh how my mates laughed 
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On one of my first ride with pals I thought I heard one of us drop some money…nope, it was the bolts from one of my cleats as I found at the next set of lights.
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Ha ha! 
I have inexplicable found the bolts had fallen out of my cleats once. Doesn’t seem like something that should happen. Cleat (sans shoe) was stuck in the pedal, I couldn’t get it out!
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You know that blue stuff you see on cleat screws when they are new…
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Further update - flu turned out to be a sinus infection so on AntiB’s for 10 days. Hopefully feeling well enough to do my swimming lesson Fri eve but lets see! Very frustrating.
On a plus note, the downtime has allowed me to get organised and set a proper agenda, I’ve got a triathlon coach on board now who coached my friend to her first Ironman. So below is the schedule I’m aiming at.
Oct 1st Duathlon SS 2.5KM Run, 10KM Bike, 2.5KM Run will be a nice starter for my first ever event
October 29th Sprint instead of Super Sprint
Jan 10th Olympic Triathlon
April - Ironman 70.3 - looking at South Africa - has anyone got experience of this one?
Marathon at some point later in the year
Potentially full ironman 2025
Happy to get a proper plan and coach sorted, obviously very lofty targets there but I think with the proper focus and dedication they’re achievable
Happy to get a proper
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If you have a sinus infection I wouldn’t go swimming until it’s cleared up - any water up the nose and into the sinuses is likely to exacerbate the problem.
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If I had my time again I’d spend more years doing short course (sprint and Olympic) than I did. Rushing to middle and long course emphasises long hours before you’ve learned technique and got fast.
You’ll agree with me in about 2027, 2028 
Have fun.
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You don’t have to wait until 2027 for me to agree. I agree with you now!!!
My hand has been slightly forced though a my mate wants to do 70.3 for his 40th which is in April so I said I’d do it with him.My original plan was to do it by the end of 2024.
But i like a challenge and a focus and I think doing it nd travelling with a pal is worth the extra hard work to get ready in a shorter time
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That sounds like a cracking plan & bet will really change you physically if you pull it off. Guy from my compound did a race in South Africa this year, I thought it was IM but maybe it was 70.3. Anyway, he got food poisoning the day before & dnf. Unlucky.
I’ve done South Africa 70.3. Great trip, race was ok, can’t remember a great deal now. Any specific questions and I’ll try to recall.
Also, Olympic distance in January, is that also going to be in the Southern Hemisphere? Where are you based?
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Oh no - he must have been gutted with getting food poisoning. yes looking forward to the changes, I dropped 14KG with my boxing match last year and loved it so another big transformation would be great.
@AndyG My Olympic is in Dubai, I’m excite for SA as never been so will make a 2 week trip out of it for great white diving, wine tours, lots and lots and lots of meat and a safari hopefully.
My major concern was the swim as everyone is telling me the sea can be really choppy in Port Elizabeth and someone said the roads are quite bumpy and make the bike/run difficult?
Training Update - had a gentle 20km over 40 mins on the indoor bike in Watopia last night and felt great to get the heart rate up. Going for a 20 minute run this evening to see where my base line is.
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Durban has trouble with water quality a recent triathlete/denizen tells me.