Originally Posted by
DBrim
...
Unfortunately, on the way back, things went, well, off the rails. Today's ride was the first time I've been outdoors with clipless pedals (had previously just done platforms). On the way home I experienced my first, and inevitable, accident. On the oncoming side of the trail, a large group of cyclists was passing a stroller. They kept coming even though I was approaching, and I got forced into the shoulder where it was icy. I actually did unclip, but while struggling for control I accidentally clipped back in, and down I went. Luckily on my side I escaped with a bruised hip and a small cut on my shin, but otherwise I'm in one piece.
...
I suppose it's also good that I'm doing my clipless learning now on a cheap bike and not on the new road bike I'm buying in the spring.
...
This brings back memories. When I got my LHT, I set it up with SPD pedals, and had (and still have, gathering dust in a closet) a nice pair of Sidi Megas to clip into them. I went like a bat out of Hell, and was favorably impressed by that. However... the first sign of the new complexity that had come into my life came one day, at the end of my street, when I braked for a crossing pedestrian, removed my feet from the pedals... except I had forgotten I was clipped in.. the bike reared like a skittish horse, and the look of horror on the pedestrian's face was a sight to behold... I managed to diagnose the situation and clip out in the milliseconds available for that, and didn't fall, no harm done... Over the next few years, I had some low-speed misadventures that led to occasional falls, including one at the end of a 75-mile ride when I was either too tired to remember to clip out, or too tired to do it. The worst was a moment on Route 62, stopping in heavy traffic, when there were a few milliseconds of doubt about whether I'd successfully clip out... I did, and all was well, but falling there and then would have been no joke...
Round about that time, I stumbled over Grant Peterson's fine rant (or manifesto, if you prefer),
The Shoes Ruse. This made intuitive good sense to me, and I switched to MKS Lambda platform pedals and five.ten Impact shoes (very grippy soles). I lost perhaps 1 mph doing that, but gained an enormous amount of simplicity, and, I suspect, a real measure of safety...
rod