Been riding my SPD pedals/shoes every day for a week now (first time in my life going clipless). Really liking the feel ... learning curve was very fast and easy, very comfortable and second nature now, and still have not fallen! At one point I was climbing a long hill and getting tired, and realized I was forgetting to pull up on the pedals ... once I started pulling up I felt like I had a second wind! Perhaps in my head since many studies insist that clipless (and pulling up) adds no power, and does not reduce energy expended, but it worked for me!

Today however I was going to the park (a block away) with my daughter, and figured I would go with running shoes and use the platform side of the pedal. A block away turned into a half hour ride, and I felt naked with the sneakers! Just felt all wrong ... the pedal was uncomfortably pushing into on the ball of my foot! How exactly am I supposed to place my foot on the pedals again? Why did the crank just brush against my ankle? Why are my feet squiggling around? My feet even hurt a tiny bit at the end of the trip!

Wow, I now understand that "once you go clipless, you can never go back" sentiment. Now I know what I have been missing all this time!