I fell down during my ride today. It wasn’t really a bad fall, just the kind of low-speed spill inevitably taken by every clipless pedal user:
I was slowing down behind a car waiting for a left turn in an intersection. In order to avoid freeing my feet from their bindings, I tried to stagger my speed so that I could continue standing in my pedals until my signal. I am normally able to stay balanced from almost a dead stop, but this time I lost control. The bike tipped over with myself helplessly bound to it, resulting in what was probably the slowest bicycle crash possible.
Woman and machine separated when the shoes snapped free on impact. I tumbled and I was on my back in the street. I lay there for about five seconds, willfully scanning myself for vital damage. My left knees had wenched. The signal turned green and I kicked one of  my aching legs over the bike, and I limped through the left turn to the opposite street corner.
I stopped and turned over the bike, looking for frame damage when a woman approached and told me she saw me fall. She offered her first aid kit, and only then did I notice the broad red ribbon extending from my left knee down to my expensive specialty sock. There was also young boy, whom the woman had sent sprinting to fetch bottle of cold, clean water.
They watched me wash and bandage my knee. After finding no obvious damage to my bike, I assured them that I could continue my own. I am lastingly amazed at the depth of kindness these people had.
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