Road Cycling - MS 150 in October. Any all advice welcome

I'm riding my first MS 150 from San Antonio, TX to Corpus Christi Oct 4-5. Any suggestions are welcome. Here's where I am:

Bought a 1999/2000 Trek 2000 (ps how would I find the year model?) and began the switch from mb to roadie on Tuesday. You've all given me some good advice already on cadence etc and I went out for a 7 mile spin yesterday and kept an average cadence of 70 @ 15 mph. My legs were killing me but cardio was a cinch (on my mb, it was always the other way around). ON my mb, I could do 20 mile at 14.5 mph without stopping but being pretty wiped after the ride (but able to do it again the next day).

Currently, I'm thinking that if I can average 10-15 miles three days a week (peaking around 20-25 in Sept) and add 5 miles every Sat or Sun (i.e. 15 this week, 20 next week etc) until I level out around 50 miles I'll be OK. Am I correct? For this one, finishing is all that matters. I'd like to sustain 15 mph over the entire ride (possible if wind isn't being a butthead).

What I want to know specifically (but please don't hesitate to mention anything and everything) is:

1. What should I pack for the ride? (Just the pockets on my jersey, a mini saddle bag and maybe a knock-off Camel Bak) "Bite-size" PowerBars? Gel Shots? blah blah blah

2. I've never ridden in a peloton, but gun-n-gal's post made me think I could do it. I'm kind of nervous about being at the front and just bombing and screwing everyone else up, or riding close to another rider's tire (a la TdF)

All other advice is welcome.

Thanks!
Carl J. Stoneham

PS If you want to donate your two cents worth, go to http://www.ms150.org/b2b/donate/donate.cfm?id=68809. I'd be more than happy to return the favor.

I think your going to need to increase your distances more than that. Im curious to see though. I want to ride some long tours next summer, and can use the same advice.

Good post.

If you can knock off a 15 miler without problems, you are no longer a newbie. Dont bother with small increments, just go straight up to 30miles. After a handfull of 30 milers, you shoudl be able to tackle a 50 with no fear.
Most people can ride OK up to about 70 miles, Beyond this distance, you are riding an endurance event, and the main problem is staying comfortable for the distance and keeping yourself fed and hydrated.
If your cardio is OK and your legs are hurting, you will not be able to ride endurance. Shift down the gears, spin your legs with more speed and less force, and transfer some of the load onto your heart. A rider has so much sprint in his legs in any one day. Once you have used up your allocation, you will struggle.

You will need to carry a toolkit (inc spare tube), some food, a small first-aid kit and any neccesary clothing as well as 2 waterbottles. You dont need to eat expensive pre-packaged sports foods. I use sandwitches, bagels, bananas etc.
A large under-saddle bag, or a handlebar bag should do. Backpacks are not good for longer rides.

Riding in a Peleton is a skill, and should be practiced with experienced riders. In charity events you get too many newbie riders to ride close and fast in safety. Your local cycle club should have some suitable rides.

I also would recommend some longer training rides. My longest one before the MS150 was 64 miles. Once I made that, I knew I could do 75 without much problem. If you do a search you can find a training program for completing a century. I took that and adjusted it downward for a 75 mile ride. It's a ten week training schedule and worked great for me. One thing I did though was take it very easy for the last 10 days to make sure I had real fresh legs.

I found that I carried way too much for the ride. Here in Michigan they had everything you might want at the rest areas, from chapstick, suntan lotion, handiwipes, tissues, food, drink, and squirtguns! Next time I will just carry my cellphone, water of course,spare tube, patching kit, air pump, and if it looks like I'll need it my rain gear.

If they offer massages after the rides make sure you take advantage of them. It really made a big difference for the second day.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Glad you saw the thread gun-n-gal. I was hoping to get some feedback. I'd love to get to 75, but it may not work out for my schedule (and where I ride (darn hicks with no appreciation for cyclists!)). How did you feel w/ 64 being your highest. Did you feel that the ride was difficult or were you able to get through it in pretty decent shape? Since I signed up late this year (my mom was diagnosed last year and it didn't occur to me to ride until TdF time this year) I'm just nterested in finishing with some dignity. next year, I might try to make the top 1/3. I'll also do Lance's Ride for the Roses in April which should help me train.

Anyway, it sounded like it wasn't a terrible ordeal for you w/ 64 being your max. Would agree with that?

Training. I would try to do a bit more on the rides during the week. Also try to get in more than 50 milers at your peak.

The reason for this is people store about 2000-2500 cal of glycogen. If you ride hard (close to your max cruising speed), you burn only glycogen and no fat. At about 50 calories per mile, people can do that for about 50 miles. Sometime after 50, they bonk. That means they have to burn fat and they slow down to half power. That is not fun. The way to avoid this is to snack some and back off an mph or so. Doing, a few longer rides can only help you. On long rides, most people make the mistake of going too fast and burning out.

I believe the MS 150 is a two day event. So think of this. You burn up 2000 cal of glycogen on day 1. So what do you have to eat to replace your 2000 cal of glycogen so you can ride on day 2? That is right. Carbohydrate. Lots and lots and lots of carbohydrate. A lb of dry pasta has almost 2000 cal of carbohydrate and that makes a whole bunch of spaghetti doesn't it? And that is about what you have to eat to recharge. Of course, it isn't that hard you spread it out over time and eat more then one kind of source of carbohydrate.

So what should you carry? Well, tube, pump, basic tools, water and that is about all you need. I wouldn't bother carrying food. I think the MS 150 has SAG stops. You can refuel at those. I generally avoid high tech stuff. I eat food instead. The energy bars and stuff are mainly hype anyway. Most of them are not as good for you as a simple banana or orange. Of course, some people can not handle that kind of food so something that is really simple to digest is better for them. Riding with a tummy ache is not fun.

Sounds to me that you are not trying to break any speed records here. So stop every 20 miles or so or at the SAG stops. Top off your water. Eat a snack. Visit the potty. Get off the bike for a few moments so your contact points: hands, feet and posterior get a break. Just don't stop too long. It can be hard to get started again.

Pacelines. Actually being up front is safer then being behind (you just work harder). The front guy can see the road problems (pot holes and such) and avoid them. The guys behind are at the mercy of the people in front of them. I would suggest that unless you get in some riding in pacelines and get comfortable with them, then avoid them on the day. Pacelines can be dangerous. Of course, it depends on the line and the speed and the stability of the riders but even so, your risks go up quite a bit in a paceline.

I complete the Colorado MS150 a couple of weeks ago. I had been out of cycling for almost 20 years and started training the first part of May. Here is what I can pass on to you about my first 150 mile tour.

They are very well supported. Basic tools are great, but we had at least 2-3 LBS trucks available at each rest stop and while we rode. So not really a must...

Just take some water and perhaps an energy bar or gel as a spare. Again they had everything you'd want to eat.

We had riders from both ends of the spectrum. Guys who were grinding it out there and others who were riding one speed cruisers, with radios mounted in BOBs and costumes.... Which gave me great hope - "If they can do this then it'll be a breeze for me" It was...

Training for me consisted of riding 5 days a week. Most of my time I spent on our local bike path. Big gears one day for leg training and smaller gears another for cardio. I used the training schedule that I found on this forum. Increaded my distances each week and varied the speeds each day. I also hit a local mountain road course at least every other weekend for hill training. Which came in very handy.

I would suggest you look at the next couple weekends and get a couple good distance rides in. This weekend plan on a 50. It may burn the crap out of you, but now your body knows what it feels like. I did that over Memorial day - the legs felt like jelly, but from then on... I had gotten over the hump.

And be sure to visit the Heath and Training forum - there is some great info there on what to eat, how to recover and interval training.

Oh and don't worry so much about pace lines - I didn't run across any on my ride - mostly groups of friends out just having fun. I did draft my buddy for a while... But otherwise we hammered this out together - are you riding with someone - if not find someone to hook up with - nothing beat moral support or peer preasure!

Good luck - you absolutly can do this. Put a schedule together and get out there. You'll do great.

Cheers

:beer:

CarlJ: I thought going 64 miles as my longest was enough to get me to 75. After all it's only another 11 miles, less than an hour of riding. I wasn't trying to set any kind of time records, I just didn't want to be last! Most of my long training rides were in the 30-40 mile range. One thing I would do differently for my next MS150 would be more hill training. The ride here in Michigan ends with some wicked hills.

Check and see if there are any organized rides in your area in the next couple of months, these are a great time to get some longer rides in with SAG support. You might also be able to practice riding pace lines in them.

Good luck and just keep riding. Make sure to take some rest days also, they are as important as training days.

Thanks. Unfortunately, I live in a pretty rural area where drinking beer and fishing beats cycling. My road bike is the only one I've seen on the road (with me on it of course) in a year. Next summer my wife and I are moving to Austin (TX) so I think that'll help a lot. As it is, I ride alone *whistling Western Gunsmoke theme* The main goal this year is just to finish without walking. There aren't too many killer hills on the ride, so I think my biggest concern will be headwinds (we are riding TO the beach). So far, I'm inclined to agree that ~60 miles will be sufficient. The biggest problem around here is finding safe places to ride Rural roads (two lanes, no shoulder) in TX have 60-70 mps speed limits and the hicks don't see a bike as a reason to slow down, so things can get a bit harrowing. I'm gonna dive a new route today and see if it's an option. A previous poster sais to just go ahead and try for 50 this week, so I'm gonna give it a shot and see how bad it is (I've done them before, but that was 10 years ago).

Your experience gives me hope. I haven't bee too worried about doing this (As Raedeke said, people on speed cruisers do it) but I also didn't want to walk half the way or bonk after 30 miles. It seems to me that as long as I don't sit on the couch (I plan to rise to and from work each day (8 miles one way)) and get some distance rides on the weekend I'll be fine. They have SAG stops every 10 miles. I will DEFINITELY take your advice on rest days. I took one three days after getting my road bike (I had spent two days trying to get used to it with lackluster results) and was amazed at the difference!

Carl - if the Texas 150 group is as organized as the Colorado, they might have a website and a chat room where you can post a request for someone to ride with. You might find someone in your general area who will also be doing the ride and could pull some training rides together.

Sorry to about the locals. I forget how lucky I am to leave in the Denver area and have such a wealth of places to ride and drivers that understand how to treat you (for the most part).

Also don't discount the reaction of your body on day two - Find a weekend and do a long ride on Saturday, recover that evening with plenty of food, water and rest and then head out the next day - take note of how your legs feel the first 10 miles and then again at about 20. You'll find they will give up their complaining and simply kick into action. This will also help your rear end get accustomed to that kind of punishment. Send me a PM if you have any other questions.

R

Thanks. I'll give your advice a whirl :)

Carl,
I rode in my first ms150 two weekends ago here in Ohio. It was great! The rest stops and support can not be beat. You really only need to carry a few things. I suggest a cell phone, patch kit or tube, and water! I filled my water bottle at every rest stop and timed my supply to last 15 miles. If the temperature goes over 80, you might want to have two water bottles. I also had granola and Power bars in my jersey pockets and ate one every 30-45 minutes.

Training: This depends on what kind of shape you are in. My longest training ride was under 30 miles and I had no problem. Just to be clear here, I am 46 years old. I worked out in the gym 3 days a week preparing (treadmill and eliptical machine 30 minutes each) If you are in good cardio shape, then your biggest challenge will be getting your butt ready for 75 miles in the saddle. The other factor is how fast do you expect to go? The faster you want to ride, the more you have to train on the bike. My daughter and her boyfriend rode with me, so I knew we would only be riding about 13 mph. Hence, training rides of 30 miles at 16-18 mpg with some hills was plenty of training. If you can train at a faster rate than you plan to ride the 150, you will be well prepared. I guess you have many hills to deal with, so if you are not in a hurry, then you will be sitting on your biggest challenge. Good Luck!!

Yeah, I plan to do this as an annual thing, but I'm saving speed for future 150s. This one is all about just finishing without dragging myself across the line. I'm thinking 50 miles max will be fine. The saddle HAS become my only worry. Aside from strapping one to my butt for the workday, I'll just have to hope I can stand it :P

Hi there! I'm doing the MS150 Breakaway to the Beach on September 21 & 22 from Camden, South Carolina to North Myrtle Beach. I'm a pretty new rider and the longest distance I've done so far is 30 miles. I'm using a century training schedule I found in "The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling" by Edmund R. Burke and Ed Pavelka. I've only had my road bike for about a month and a half but was able to do 15 miles when I first bought the bike because I've been lifting & doing cardio for about 7 years. Anyway, from what I understand, they supply just about everything -- so I'm just taking basics like water, an energy drink & a spare tube and tools.

The schedule I have has me starting with 77 miles a week (long ride = 30 miles) and ending with 170 miles a week (long ride 65 miles). I don't have enough time to complete that schedule (it's a 10 weeker) so I'll probably just bump up the long rides a tad more than it suggests each week. It also has me riding every day but Thursdays.

Here's a schedule that looks like mine:

http://www.bikerideforthefamily.org/training/a0000038.html

You bought the exact same book I just did and are on the same time schedule (minus a week) that I am! It's also interesting that we're both biking to a beach... :eek:

Hibiscus, I think we should try to keep track of each other in this forum for mutual motivation. What'd'ya say?

Sounds good to me! I need motivation & am a great motivator to others. :D I never quit, unless I pass out (lol) and I plan on finishing this! By the way, I bought a Bianchi Eros & it's my first road bike. The last time I had a bike even shaped like this -- :D -- was a 10 speed in high school. I've been working out, though, like a fiend for about 7 years & I'm taking no prisoners.

Rides are still going good. Can't seem to get my average speed over 14.33 over my longer rides, but I'm not going to sweat it. I guess that's fine for a beginner. I'm riding 30 miles this weekend -- on Sunday instead of Saturday -- my sister is coming to visit me at Kiawah to ride with me. :D

Kiawah? Awesome! I went to CofC for two years in the early 90s. I actually grew up in the mountains of NC and CofC was just far enough from Mom & Dad. unfortunately, beach volleyall at the Isle of Palsm had more pull than classes :P Had to trasnfer back home after 2 years :(

LOL -- my daughter is a Sophmore at College of Charleston. :) She pledged Kappa Delta & I was thinking there goes the scholarship, but last semester her average was a 3.7, so I guess she's hanging tough with the partying/going to class. :D

Wow! My wife is a KD from Baylor U (Pres of the sorority)! This is freaky!
When I was at CofC there wasn't a KD (that I remember). I remember CofC having THE prettiest sorority girls anywhere ever! I can only assume your daughter fits that category. Sounds like she's smart too! I actually lost a scholarship while there, so it can happen. Keep a close eye on those grades ;D What's her major?
When I was there, I rowed with the crew team (founding member) in an old wooden shell. When we went to regattas, we'd borrow a newer boat from the competition and then spank them with it!
Ahhhh. The good ole days. :'( My wife (girlfriend at the time) actually spent New Year's '00 in Chas. We were doing grad school in Richmond, VA and drove down for that ?weekend? Spent most of it in a haze :P

While I was there, I would occassionally bike from CofC to Folly Beach which ain't too far from Kiawah. Long ride on roads with no shoulders. Didn't do it too often. :eek:

Brittany (my daughter) is beautiful. :) Sounds like you married a sweetheart you met young, like me. Met my sweetie at 14 years old, married him at 21 years old, and have been married 21 years. :D Britt's major is Business with a minor in dance. She plans on working for her daddy & having her own dance school on the side. She's been dancing since she was 3 years old. She had the opportunity to do an internship in Washington this summer. She really enjoyed it.

The crew racing sounds pretty cool. We spent New Year's in Charleston in 1998 -- at the Charleston Place Hotel. Boy, I still remember how drunk we were. LOL

I need to go on to graduate school. I just graduated from college (I'm a late bloomer) in December, 2001. I'm planning on going to graduate school to become a marriage & family counselor.

I rode today -- 10 miles -- but boy my legs felt tired. I may skip the 9 miler tomorrow & just go for 30 on Sunday.

Actually, I didn't meet my wife until 4 years ago when I was 26 and she was 24 (in grad school). Just got married a bit over 1 1/2 years :)

As for 30 miles, definitely skip tomorrow. I did 30 Wed and I made sure I didn't even look at my bike Tues. Prior to that, 15 miles was my max on my roadie (higher numbers on my mtb because I was more used to it). You may bonk of your 30-mile ride, so be prepared. It's OK because the experience is invaluable. I'd say eat a lot of spaghetti tomorrow and take a PowerBar on the ride (start munching about 30-45 minutes in). Don't focus on cadence on the 30. Just aim for a comfortable pace and focus on mileage. isave cadence for short rides (right now) and just focus on finishing the longer ones. As I get in better shape, I'll start combining the two. You might also ride about 5 easy miles Sunday to keep your legs from getting too stiff. It'll be tough, but a Walkman or MP3 player will help. Take a cell phone so you call for a ride of you bonk early. Drink plenty of fluids (one bottle every 30 minutes of possible) and stop at 15 miles for a breif break (or at a gas staion to refill the bottles).

Again, if you bonk, just think of it as a good experience and learn from it. if things just get hard, say to yourself either "The harder it is, the better the training" or remember your MS pedal-pusher (my mom in my case) and say "If he/she can live with MS, I can push 10 more miles".

You'll do fine. You still have 2 months which is plenty of time. I'll probably do 30 tomorrow or Sunday as well, so I'll be sure to send positive vibes your way. Also, start around 9am or 5pm (cooler) and maybe less traffic :) 13-14 mph is a good pace

Woo-hoo! Did my 30 miles -- felt like I could have done 20 more! :beer: My pace was 13.53 -- I started out slow because I was worried about bonking -- then, I had to wait for my sister several times because she wasn't familiar with the island & I was worried she'd get lost. Other than that, it was a fantastic ride. I had spaghetti the night before & 2 servings of oatmeal before the ride. I drank a liter of water from my water bladder & a 20 oz. Gatorade on the trip. I was very happy that at about 15 miles into the ride I had an energy surge & was just running on adrenaline for the rest of the ride. I took along a Power Gel but ended up just eating it at the end of the ride for recovery.

Oh, and there was an absolute downpour/monsoon for the last 2 miles. My sister had quit by then. I was soaked and definitely needed windshield wipers for my sunglasses & scuba gear to breathe.

Anyway, Yippee!! :D

The 50 should be no problem especially w/ all the stops.I haven't done a ms ride but i've done similiar rides.I'm a mtb rider and do a little road riding(a lot more this year).Anyway due to work and kids i usually only ride once or twice a week(20 miles each time).And i've done one cenury(103 miles),and 6 metric centuries(60-63 miles)and onemetric offroad century(my favorite).The first metric and the century were the hardest.At the rate you're going you should have no problem.If you can get on the back of a paceline and draft some it will help a lot.My first metric i didn't know anything about that so i rode just me and my wife most of the time.Anyway you'll have a great time and meet a lot of great people.Just have fun and dont worry about being in a hurry,just enjoy.

Thanks redfox!

Hibiscus: AWESOME! It really does take some of the pressure off to break the 30 mile mark, eh? My attempt yesterday wasn't as successful. I hadn't eaten like I should have and kind of wore around 25 miles (the hills were hard). I guess following my Wed 30 mile ride with one on Sat probably didn't help. :P Anyway, GREAT job!!!! Woohoo!!! :D

Thanks redfox & Carl! My leggies are feeling it a little this morning -- LOL.

Carl, I don't know if I could have doubled up like that in one week with long rides. :p Anyway, I cheated and headed to Kiawah for my long ride because it's flat. My neighborhood is pretty hilly and that's where I've been doing the shorter rides (up to 15 miles). Anyway, the brochure says the first 15 miles are rolling hills and then, the rest is flatlands on the MS Ride.

Sounds like you used your head, not cheated! I've got hills for about the first 40 and them probably a headwind since I'll be headed for the beach. For me, that pretty much means I've gotta do hills :P There aren't a whole lot where I live in TX, but I've found a route that forces me to tackle a few decent ones near the end of the ride. Makes it hard, but whatever :)

As for your legs, don't forget to doa recovery ride today. I try to do 5-10 miles at a leisurely pace. My understanding is that a recovery ride just helps stretch your legs out and keeps them from aching on the second day (then again, I could be wrong).

Also, if you've been thinking of a heart rate monitor, I found a good one for $50 on overstock.com. It's the Freestyle ECG 4 and even has a bike mount. Mine arrived today and as soon as I post this, I'm off to the PO to get it! :D

Cool! Let me know how you like it. :) I was thinking of just getting on my elliptical for about a half hour today to loosen up the old legs. :D I've been cleaning all day & I don't know if I can drag myself outside.

Just went & bought cycling shoes & clipless pedals. Hope I don't crash! LOL

Probably a good time to get them, since you'll get a break-in period. I'd love some, but I think I'm at my spending (at least, my wife thinks so). Let me know how long they take to get used to. I'll be riding today and I'll send back a report on the HRM :)

Here's a link to the Maine MS Society's website. They have a suggested training schedule posted.

http://www.msmaine.org/bttb_training_schedule.shtml

Good luck!

Thanks, MLW!

LOL, Carl! Brian's (my sweetie) response to my new stuff was "That's nice. There went your new golf clubs." :D He was just kidding -- I think. I ended up lifting weights for 45 minutes & then riding a stationary bike for 30 (7 miles) today. I'm now heading out to practice these clipless pedals & shoes. I know the neighbors will think I'm nutty. They guy told me to ride up my driveway & then into the grass & try to pop them off there. :D

Just tried out my clipless pedals & shoes. :D I forgot to say, I ended up buying Specialized shoes and Look 357 pedals.

Anyway, it was hilarious. The neighbor behind me competes in Iron Man competitions & if he was home, I was providing him with his day's humorous entertainment.

The first time was the worst. I was riding up the driveway & into the yard to get used to how it feels. Clipping in was no problem. when I tried to pop out of the clips I was trying with my left foot because that is the one I naturally was pulling out of the straps when they were attached to my pedals. Anyway, the bike was almost at a complete stop & I was not popped out. :eek: I must have really given it a good jerk out of fear of falling and out it came. After that, I tried about 8 more times -- this time using the right foot. I can pop it out quite easily. I'm glad I figured that one out before I was out on the road. I have no left side coordination at all.

:D There may be hope for me! I'm probably gonna have to wait until Christmas for my clipless pedals, and I can just imagine trying them out and falling on the cold, hard, frozen ground :P ;)

The Heart Rate Monitor was interesting. I set the target rate a bit low and found that I did a very slow workout. On the other hand, the monitor kept me at a consistent work rate and I finished 8 miles almost wihout breaking a sweat. I think I'll set it higher for the shorter rides, but I'm willing to bet that using on the longer rides could dramatically improve my time on the bike. I was a bit upset by the workout thinking I had wimped out, but I went to my doctor (for my annual physical) shortly thereafter and he seemed to think it was perfectly fine. He just to up it if I wanted a harder workout. Interesting...

Anyway, I'd suggest you get one. I can really see how it'd make a big difference. If you decide to get one, just look on Overstock.com for the "Freestyle ECG 4" for $50. Nashbar had a pretty fancy one a week ago that $70 and had ALL the bells and whistles. I got the Freestyle because it came with a bike mount...

I'm sure I'll get one eventually. I want one. Right now, I'm sure I'm on spending restriction! LOL I'm going to brave it tomorrow & go out & ride with those clipless pedals. I've been reading too much online about crashes with them. :eek: Anyway, I'm going to get out there & learn to use them regardless. :)

Great! Damn the knees! Half speed ahead! Good luck :)

Regarding the clipless pedals, I had a hard time getting used to them at first so my LBS put my bike on a trainer in the shop & let me stay there as long as I wanted until I felt comfortable (didn't have to worry about crashing!). After that, no problem. It really does become second nature & you won't even have to thing about it. My 1st time on the road with the clipless pedals I had a tire blow, I clipped out immediately & was able to stop safely.

Thanks! My LBS did the same thing. They're very helpful. :)

LOL -- I just landed on my behind in the cul de sac in front of my house. I'm sure the neighbors are getting a kick out of this. I'm going to spend all day practicing get out of these clips. I can do the right one fine. In fact, I had the right one out when I fell but the bike leaned left & down I went. That left one is going to take some practice!! :D

Isn't there a tension setting? Mabe you could set the left one to a little lower tension so you could snap out easier?

I suppose there is. The bike shop put the pedals on my bike & set everything up. I'm such a dummy. I walked out of there without instructions again. LOL Do you adjust the pedal or something on the shoe?

I think you adjust the pedal. I don't have any, but I've read a BUNCH of posts that always talk about adjusting a tension screw to make it easier to clip in and get out. You could probably find the manual online at the manufacturer's site (specialized.com?). Either that, or the shop should have some laying around. My understanding is that the tension screw is kind of the only one on the pedals?

I found it and loosened it as far as it will go. I'm doing better. :D I'll keep practicing. I'm sure it takes a while to feel comfortable with these clipless pedals. I may have to do my training ride tonight in my tennis shoes. :)

When you unclip with your right foot first, turn the wheel to the right, that way your weight will have to shift to the right also and keep you from falling to your left.

Thanks gun-n-gal. I was just figuring that out in the backyard. LOL That works. :D I'm determined not to give up on these pedals & shoes. They cost too much! Hopefully, I'll get better & not so intimidated by them.

My training has been greatly hindered this week because of these love-a-ly clipless pedals. I'm scared to go further than my own street. LOL Anyway, I'm going to take them off & put my regular pedals with cage looking straps back on & I will try these clipless things out after the MS Ride. I need to train. Time's a wasting. :D

I'd say keep them on. The benefits far outweigh the risks. My uderstanding is that the training lost by learning the pedals is more than made up by mastering them. The heightened efficiency of your stroke jumps you ahead by a few weeks on training. Since you're not racing the 150 and still have almost 2 months, I'd stick with them. Shouldn't take more than 2-3 days. Find a relatively untraveled stretch, drive there with your bike, then pedal up and down the road taking your time, clipping in, clipping out, rinse, repeat until you get the hang of it. Your training will actually suffer more by NOT using the pedals (from what I *understand*. Remember, I don't own any ;D ). Also, if you're REALLY having trouble, I've heard the mtb clipless are a bit easier to use. Maybe your LBS will take the road clipless back for exchange.

Come on! I'm living vicariously through you! Keep hope alive for those of us whose wives won't OK this kind of purchase before Dec 25th!!!

Come on! I'm living vicariously through you! Keep hope alive for those of us whose wives won't OK this kind of purchase before Dec 25th!!!

LOL, Carl. Hope has died. Ummmm, I'm heading to the LBS now. :D I tried again today & now I'm really scared of my bike. I can't get them out sometimes!!

Maybe I'll ask for a trainer for Christmas and can go back to practicing then.