This is similar to what I do. The wheelie thing is a bit disconcerting, and coming from not being in the right gear, not that I always am. I find that in a left turn pocket my speed is not different from the cars, at least until they clear the intersection. I often stop in the center of the turn pocket lane behind any cars already there, and a car length or two back, so I can get up and clipped in before things are moving to fast. Fumbling while clipping in is my biggest concern when taking a pocket.