Feel like I'm falling

So bike training for Chicago had it's own set of problems. To begin with my original bike was a heavy, all steel Bridgestone Hybrid that I bought in Worcester Mass about 13 years ago. So I was lucky enough to pick up a Felt F 60 with granny gears of course (even though there are no hills in Chicago).
Buying the bike was fine but riding it took what some people call effort. Me no like to give an effort. The biggest problem wa crashing. "Super fast wipeouts while taking curves at high rates of speed", you ask? No repeated falling to the left while stopped at red lights and clipped into the pedals. There is nothing worse than a slow speed crash. Same great pain, no cool story.
The other problem is that I am terrified of riding on the road. Especially since my wife was sick, I was even more cautious. So I often rode on some very nice bike paths we have around here. So now the combination of lots of falling and bike paths means? Correct----Very often I would look up from the ground after crashing to find a 10 year old girl, on a pink bike (with streamers for full effect) looking down at me and saying, "Mister, are you ok" ? So Dave Scott I am not.
But I did persist and also got in some Team in Training rides late in the summer. I was also lucky enough to have my friend Rob invite me on an MS 150 ride. Come race day in Chicago, I had just enough muscle to get up and down Lakeshore drive twice and off the bike. Now onto the run......