People, there is an easier way to pick a fallen bike by yourself. You can practice this, but you will want help laying the bike down gently, and you may want a spotter on the other side should you push too far.

Make sure the bike is in gear before you try this, and remember baby steps when pushing.

Here is a demo video: http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/Videos/drop05.mpg
which is at this Picking up a dropped bike page, and there are more video's at the bottom of the page:
http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/dropped.html

Yeah the bike has bags on it, which makes it easier, but she has also done it on bikes without bags.

This site really shows you all you need, but here are some other ones too:

http://ibmwr.org/otech/pickup.html
http://www.amadirectlink.com/magazine/2003/story4apr.asp

RB

Hah! I happen to have read that particular page before I dropped Surak at the end of my road the other day. I thought, AHA! I can do this! I read that there page on the web last week....nooooooo problem!
But, alas....I was downhill....and had to stand in the gravel at the side of the road, surely 12 feet deep gravel because as much as I scuffed, I couldn't get down to that good old slippery Pennsylvania clay, let alone to bedrock. Of course, my left arm was wrenched pretty good trying to keep from dropping the bike, which didn't help, but I thought I'd give 'er the old heave-ho anyway....You know, Git-er-done! Well.. I wriggled, and I writhed, I heaved and I hoed, I sputtered and I spit and I slipped and I slid.....and Surak just laid there. I swear I heard him chuckle, but it must have just been the gravel rolling under my feet. He laid there till some kind but condescending gentleman stopped to help.
Now, I'm taller than 5' 3" and I may even weigh more than 118 (haha) but that bike may as well have been a half ton hogtied longhorn for all the more I got him up off the road alone... :( No pink ribbon for me.

Talie

You haven't been watching Larry the Cable Guy have you??

Spence

Guilty as charged, dad gum Sir, how'dya know?! ...Uhhhh ....I'm Sorry 'bout that, Lord, please forgive me and be with the starving kids in China.
I don't care who you are, that right there was funny.
Git-r-done
Talie

"Well.. I wriggled, and I writhed, I heaved and I hoed, I sputtered and I spit and I slipped and I slid.....and Surak just laid there. I swear I heard him chuckle, but it must have just been the gravel rolling under my feet."

But you didn't HUFF and PUFF. :)

You know what, I'm 6' 230 lbs and I work out (though it doesn't look like it, too much chocolate, I guess), but my point is, I don't think I could have done it with that technique either, under the conditions you describe. That technique requires firm footing, which is where the leverage comes from. I would have had to brute force lift it, and probably wrenched my back in the process.

So Git-er-done Talie, you still get a pick ribbon in my book just for trying, in fact, two because you tried even though you were injured! Love your spunk.

Go Git-er Talie!

RB


... snip....I was downhill....and had to stand in the gravel at the side of the road, surely 12 feet deep gravel because as much as I scuffed, I couldn't get down to that good old slippery Pennsylvania clay, let alone to bedrock. Of course, my left arm was wrenched pretty good trying to keep from dropping the bike, which didn't help, but I thought I'd give 'er the old heave-ho anyway....You know, Git-er-done! ... snip..... :( No pink ribbon for me.

Talie