Riders in the road forum have frequently extolled the virtues of clipless pedals. My father-in-law, who is a frequent riding buddy, often talked about how much more efficient they are.

I currently ride a Cannondale Adventure 3 hybrid (planning to upgrade to a Synapse 5 road bike) with a narrower road seat. A couple of afternoons a week, I'm able to get out for an 8 to 10 mile ride. Saturday mornings are usually longer - 20 to 35 miles.

After a lot of research, I ordered Nashbar SoHo pedals and Lake MTB shoes. They arrived yesterday and installation was fairly straightforward. Many people had recommended practicing clipping into the pedals and then twisting out thirty to forty times before taking a short trip around the neighborhood. This turned out to be a really good idea and made me a lot more comfortable taking off on this morning's ride.

First, I want to proudly say there were no falls. ...yet. A 27 mile loop was the ride du jour. You most definitely feel more at-one with the bike. The stiff Vibram rubber soles of these shoes were much more comfortable about the 10 mile mark than my previous tennis shoes (they really do have too soft of soles for riding any distance). When the soles of my feet start to get a little tired, I have been in the habit of picking my feet up slightly from the pedals on the upstroke in order to give them a break. Try that when you're clipped in. Whoa baby! When you're clipped in, you can still apply power on the upstroke!! Picked up about 2 mph after figuring that one out.

The end result: I whole-heartedly recommend clipless pedals and shoes for any semi-serious, longer distance riding.