Hearing everyone's "how I learned clipless" stories, I decided to learn them in a big grass field behind a church. I'd get one foot in and fall, I'd get up, put in the foot and fall. I didn't even get moving before falling. I'd go a foot, try to clip the other in, and fall. Stopping was a whole 'nother series of falling. It took about an hour and a half before I graduated from the grass field to the parking lot. I was covered in grass stains but it turns out that the whole apartment complex just beyond the grass was peaking through their windows looking at the fool who couldn't ride a two-wheeler for his life.

At the Tour Du Port in Baltimore last summer I made it to the halfway point in the park where there was a mechanic setup. My trigger shifting was a little iffy so they cleaned it out. The first half mile out of the park was a run through a neighborhood ... being excited to test my shifting I blasted by the first group of rec riders. About two blocks down a SUV comes barrelling down the corner with me at a full speed ... I hit all the brakes, flip over the bars, clipped in taking the bike with me in a 180. About a minute later the rec pack I passed goes rolling by ...

Last weekend I was returning to my bike shop to get a fitting on my new bike. They convinced me to switch to Speedplay X's pedals, which have so much float that I was having trouble clipping out of them. This really hot woman is standing right outside the shop with a tight green top because of St. Patrick's day. I try to stop, unclip successfully, and then almost do an end over trying to get my other foot out of the pedal ... crap. Walked into the shop, got enough looks and laughs to last the fitting.