My friend uses these instead of clipless. They give you a nice foot hold on the pedals but are much easier to get out of for an inexperience clipless user.
Again, just 20 bucks. They are called power grips. I have use them myself and they are easy to use and give you a pretty darn good grip on the pedals. I still love my clipless SPD pedals, but I think the power grips are a good alternative.
