As I have admitted many times, I am a klutz with a track record of hurting myself in funny ways. Knowing this, I should have rejected the idea of biking and filming at the same time. But no, I wanted to get some footage of this weekend’s tour of Queens. While Rob called out the turns, I pedaled behind and used my Flip to get some action shots — only I braked too suddenly at a stop sign and ended up somersaulting over my handlebars. Luckily my only injuries were a banged up knee and a scraped palm but it was enough to shake me up. New plan: mount the camera on my handlebars. For now, here’s a little clip of the sheepish biker, post-spill.

It looks like Ms. Chen is not the only one who’s prone to accidents.  Yesterday, after a morning of kayaking in False Creek, lunch at Maenam (excellent pad thai and Siam Sun Ray cocktail, made with lime, chili and ginger-infused toasted coconut juice, vodka, and soda), and a Lululemon fitting in Kitsilano, I was making my way (carefully, oh so carefully) to my next activity–yoga at Semperviva–when my bag full of new gear got caught in my front wheel.  The front wheel came to a sudden halt and up and over went Geraldine.  I’m not entirely sure exactly how I fell–at least a little bit sideways, and it helped that I wasn’t moving very fast–but I was significantly rattled enough to pass on yoga and head straight to the bike store to make sure everything was a-okay.  A trued wheel, few bangs of the hammer to get things straightened out, and a new backpack later, I was back on the road.  Let’s hope Mollie and I are getting all of our accidents out of the way before the trip.

Last Fourth of July I made a little trip to the emergency room for a few stitches

Last summer, just after I accidentally stabbed myself in the palm (de-pitting an avocado the stupid way), my family came up with a brilliant idea for a website: watchmolliefall.com. The idea never came to fruition but not for lack of material. I am a klutz. I injure myself in obscure and baffling ways. I shattered a couple tiny bones in my foot jumping into a pool; another time I fainted, fell on my face, and broke my front tooth. The first time I went biking with clipless pedals I had yet another classic spill: On my way home, on the very flat Hudson River parkway, I  braked in such a way that I somehow somersaulted over my handlebars and flipped my bike on top of myself. Three monster bruises. And this morning my gimpiness struck again. Inspired by all my marathon-training friends I decided to go for a quick jog along the river. About three miles in, uneven payment, wrenched ankle, and a sad hobble back home. Now, as I ice my probably sprained ankle I am trying to look on the bright side: someone is obviously telling me I should be biking instead.

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I’m sure I can change a flat tire, but I can’t actually recall ever having to do it. In fact, I’m kind of embarassed by how wussy I am when it comes to being handy with my bike. So, I was super psyched to find this instructional video on “How to Change a Flat Tire.” Check it out.