My cycling days go so far back that I had my "zero mph" falls in the days of cleated shoes that went with clips and toe straps. You'd buy a pair of shoes (anyone remember brands like Detto Pietro?), ride them for 50 miles to see where to mount the cleat, nail the cleats in to the sole where the impression from the pedal was and bend the ends of the nails so they didn't poke into your feet. The cleats engaged the edge of the pedal and if you tightened the toe straps, it was not possible to pull your foot out. I learned to quickly reach down to loosen the toe straps. You started from a stop and pulled the straps tight so you got full benefit from being strapped in. Going from there to clipless was a breeze - you didn't even have to reach down! What a concept!

-soma5