I Did It!
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Okay, it’s confession time. Those of you who have been around for a while already know this about me, but others will no doubt be shocked and appalled.
I have never ridden with clipless pedals.
I know, I know, it’s ridiculous. I watch cycling, I write about cycling, I love to ride myself. How sad is it that until today I’ve been too nervous to make the move to clipless?
But, it’s a new day in the Best household. Last week I did it. I went and bought new, clipless pedals for my bike and lovely Louis Garneau shoes to go with them.
Now, up here in Toronto we still have knee-deep snow around but as soon as things warm up I’ll be out on the road, clipped in with super-efficient power transfer like never before. I have been practicing because the shoes that I got also work on the spinning bikes in my spinning class so I’m getting used to that but I have to admit that I’m still a little bit terrified about that first ride out on the road.
Do any of you expert clipless riders out there remember when you took your first clipless ride? Give me some tips here. Dos? Don’ts?
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March 5th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
For the first week or two you might not want to cinch up your shoes too tight or at least 1 shoe anyway. This way if in a fit of a panic you forget how to unclip you can pull out of your shoe before falling.
Good Luck
March 5th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
[If you don’t like long stories (even if there is a moral to the story) you should skip this one – you’ve been warned.]
It will take a few days/weeks to adjust to being clipped in. If you come to a stop, and forget to unclip until its too late, you’re going to fall (that’s the too late part). If that happens remember to curl your body and arms into a ball and roll with the fall - you’ll probably make out OK. Even if you get scrapped or bruised a bit it beats the alternative…
About two years ago I was training for my first serious ride, the long version of the local Tour de Cure - 78 miles over the mountains and back. A little over a week before the event a friend of mine very graciously lent me their Felt road bike to use for my final training and the ride. But his bike had SPD peddles whereas my older and less serious bike had only conventional peddles.
Since he was nice enough to lend me the bike I went out and bought my very first pair of true cycling shoes with clips so that I could use the bike. I messed around indoors for a day or two, making sure that I know how to clip and unclip, before I took it out on the road.
The first few rides were shaky at the starts and stops, but I managed OK. Well enough that a few days later, just a week before the ride, I decided it was time to do a trial run of a good portion of the actual route. Everything went well, for the first 20 miles or so.
It was at this time that I found myself at the top of the mountain, approaching an intersection with a general store and a couple of restaurants, all of which are frequented by bikers (as in motorcycles). I decided that this was a good spot to take a break for a few minutes, have a snack and a drink, and then proceed. As I slowed down to choose my exact location for my break I was distracted by a very large Harley biker dude who was only inches away from where I had planned to stop.
Unfortunately, I was so distracted trying to choose a better location that I totally forgot to unclip until was too late! I was at a dead standstill, and falling over, right in front of this guy! As I fell I instinctively stuck out my left arm to break my fall. It all happened so fast. Before I even knew what happened this guy leans over, and with one hand he grabs me and lifts me and the bike (it was still clipped to my shoes) straight up and says “hey man, are you all right?”
I was still a bit stunned by the whole sequence of events and didn’t really know what to do at first. But after a few minutes we became friends and we chatted a bit about various things while I attempted to evaluate my condition. My arm was sore but appeared mostly functional. I had a few scraps, but nothing serious. My bike (actually, my friend’s bike) also had a few scrapes but nothing too bad that couldn’t be fixed with pushing and pulling.
So after a few more minutes - and the snack that I had originally promised myself - I continued on as originally planned…
About 22 miles, and some number of mountains later, I arrived at the next town, near the ocean, for another break. By this point my arm was bothering me even more. And as I pulled over to sit down on a bench I realized that my rear tire had just gone flat. Ugh! What a day. So, after fixing the flat, and talking with my wife on the phone, she agreed to come pick me up and take me home – I had had it for the day. By the time she arrived, almost an hour later, my arm was really bothering me; so much so that I asked her to take me home, via the clinic.
Sure enough, after all the X-rays and exams, it turns out that I broke my arm (near the elbow). At first the doctor wanted to sling my arm and prescribe non-use for a couple of weeks. I informed her that I was going to need my arm for a bike ride the following weekend. After a long discussion she begrudgingly “let me ride in the event”, on two conditions: 1) I wasn’t to use my left arm, and 2) I wasn’t allowed to fall.
So that’s what I did. The next weekend I completed the entire ride as planned, using essentially only my right (good) arm and being very mindful not to fall for any reason. This was particularly tricky since on last 20 or so miles of the ride, coming down the mountain towards the finish, it started to rain. Ugh.
The moral of this story is: If you forget to unclip before it is too late, never, ever, stick out your arm to “break your fall” – you might just break something else in the process.
And rolling into a ball? Does it work? Yes, but that’s another story…
March 6th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Don’t get sidetracked, forget you’re on clipless pedals, and then make a sharp U-turn…
March 6th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Welcome to the dark side! Bwhahahaha
Okay, j/k
You’ll soon learn to love your clipless pedals. You’ll fall over a couple of times, everyone does. Goes with the territory. But it won’t be long before you don’t even think about it and off you go. The best advice I can give is that if you are falling over do not try to catch yourself with your hands. Like was mentioned before, curl up and take the fall on your side and roll with it. There will be little risk of breaking anything that way. It’s easy to twist or stain a wrist if you try to break your fall with your hands. At worst, you could break your arm, but that would have to be one heck of a tumble.
Congrats an taking this step, you’ll love ‘em!
March 6th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Funny story, the first time that I went out on my clipless, everything was fine- I rode for 20 miles and went great. I think because I was being careful and over cautious just because it was the first time. after a couple hundred miles, I got a little complacent, and was riding to the gym, and stopped at a stopsign. I forgot to/unclippe dlate, and fell over, stopping just in time to fall on top of the bike. Close call, but the traffic sure got a good laugh
March 7th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
My suggestion is don’t tighten the tension to tight until you get more comfortable. I started on the trainer, then moved to riding around the yard, figuring if I fell it wouldn’t hurt as much as cement. Good luck
March 20th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
I loved clipless from day one. A friend gave me a pair of looks witch I used for years, I don’t think I could ride a bike or would want to without clipless. Well may be a cruiser. You may want to start by a wall to hold yourself up and practice clipping in and out. Just remember to clip out a the stop light, even clip out before you get to the stop light . Ounce you get the hang of it clipless is the way to go.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Don’t forget you’re on clipless pedals! When you slow down and are going to stop, unclick one pedal, but keep your shoe on it. Then when you brake to a stop, remember to lean towards the side with your unclipped foot. I was stupid and leaned on the WRONG SIDE. I fell like twice or thrice in my own driveway. UNCLIP ahead of time before you stop. It’s a good habit. Btw, I think you’ve already bought your clipless pedals, but, sorry for spamming, Speedplay MTB clips are SUPER EASY to get out of. There is almost no transition period. Period. =) You can always try to do a bit of riding on a trainer to get used to clipping in and out, and try your own driveway or quiet streets, so you won’t get run over if you fall.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Hey, Sara, It made me feel good to read that you had never used clipless pedals. Actually, I have used them, and after a couple (awful) rides, went back to my precious old pedals with toeclips. This is about one of those rides.
We were on vacation the first time I tried the clipless pedals. I had great new shoes that had velcro rather than laces. That turned out to be a very good thing! We were cruising along a back road in Maine returning from a ride to the coast and coming up to our right turn. A car towing a boat was just stopped for no apparent reason, so I thought I’d just pass him & then turn. I didn’t count on the car following us to do the same thing, ignoring the two cyclists in front of him.. He basically cut me off. I knew I couldn’t stop without falliing so somehow found a way through it all and around the corner. Up the road a piece, I pulled the velcro open & took my feet out of my shoes and stopped. I sat on the grass, shaking, angry, and near tears as my husband caught up to me. I was not getting back on that bike, and we had only begun our 40-mile trip back to our cottage! Finally, we dicided I could use his bike, and we would only ride about ten miles to a friend’s house. Did I mention that my husband is about 10 inches taller than I am? He lowered the seat of his bike all the way. It really was still too big, but I could manage, though miserably. A real trouper, I moaned and griped the whole ten miles, but we made it. Don’t remember how he managed with my small bike, but he did. Hubby took a ride with our friend to our cottage to get our car, and that evening, my old pedals went back on the bike! Call me chicken, call me retro, I don’t care. I’ll stick with the toeclips!
But, Sara, I’m betting YOU”RE doing very well with them by now….