Originally Posted by
Copper_head
I pounded the bridge landing pretty hard but thankfully my body took the brunt and my bike was not damaged. I felt like a turtle for a minute as I labored at getting my feet out as I held my bike up off the gravel.
That's the stuff, Copper-head!
I do hope the problems with clipping in/out are just because you haven't become accustomed to the darn things. If everything between the cleat and pedals is right, clipping in will eventually feel as natural as falling of a, well, bike. At that point, you will just put your foot down while waiting for traffic to clear.
In another week, if you try platform pedals, you'll just feel nekkid.