Sorry for the delay in responding. I hate it when work gets in the way of my posting.

Anyway, first set was a Sidi Vultano (spelling?) shoe with a Shimano Ultegra pedal. It was PD-66?? or something like that. I got rid of those after about 700 miles and any number of foot slips on the pedal when starting up as well as any number of whole body slips when trying to walk in the road shoes. Not to mention the joys of trying to walk two miles in road shoes when I had a serious mechanical failure on my bike.

The second set was a Shimano Mountain Shoe (not sure of the model, but it looks a lot like the M121G) and a pedal that looks a lot like the Nashbar Rodeo pedal (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...pless%20Pedals). I bought the pedal at my LBS, so I doubt it was a Nashbar brand. Better in terms of foot slipping on startup, but still a royal pain in the a** not to mention even worse on the feet going numb.

One of the things I've discovered is that I'm never going to challenge anybody for a spot in the Tour, nor is it my intention to do so. I like to ride my bike and go places. If others are going faster -- even much faster -- that's great for them. But speed is not the be-all/end-all for my riding. As a result, the extra 2-5% power that clipless may give the most talented and trained rider (according to university-level research quoted by Bicycling Magazine -- not 15-20% as quoted by so many people who ride with clipless) isn't of much use to me.

On the other hand, being able to dismount quickly is of use, as is the ability to walk around once I've dismounted (during last weekend's ride, one of the riders wound up in the hospital after a particularly nasty fall when he slipped in the parking lot while trying to walk fast in his road shoes with cleats). So is the serenity and confidence I have when my feet are not locked in, thus making the ride more enjoyable. Of the most use to me is the ability to ride my bike without serious leg pain and foot numbness.

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By the way, the pedal I have on there now is something like the Nashbar cage pedal (no cage of course), but I am thinking about the Nashbar Jaws pedal or the Nashbar Land Cruiser pedal.

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Between an earlier Trek 700-series something hybrid (deceased) with flat pedal and an existing Specialized Sirrus with flat pedal (no cages on either), I have about 10,000 miles on flat pedal bikes. I've never once had my foot slip off the pedal, even when standing on the pedals. I live in southwestern CT, and we have more than our fair share of short, sharp hills where it's easier to stand than it is to do a lot of shifting.