Well, instead of "all the boys", more like 1 man. And instead of "the yard", more like to the park.
I got bored and despite the crazy southerly winds, decided to venture out into the park to do some practice riding with the clipless pedals.
Get joined by random man. I think he was bored from riding alone for a while.
I guess that's ok.
But how did you go with the pedals?
It went well!
It's almost anti-climactic how calm and not stressful it is!
I'm definitely confident about getting on the road.
My husband says that things I fear are a bit anti-climactic because by the time I get over my fear and do it, I've researched it all to bits and am so overqualified for the activity. This may be one of those instances!
James at the bike store did say that picked up the clipping in and out much quicker than most people.
They put my bike on the stationery trainer so I could practice on a non-moving bike first.
It took a little while to get used to finding where the pedals were, and we had to adjust my right shoe because the pedals needed to line up with the ball of my foot more, rather than the middle of my foot.
They put my bike on the stationery trainer so I could practice on a non-moving bike first.
It took a little while to get used to finding where the pedals were, and we had to adjust my right shoe because the pedals needed to line up with the ball of my foot more, rather than the middle of my foot.
It also took a little while to get used to clipping in and out. I noticed:
IN needs some weight downwards.
OUT needs some force to flick your heel outwards, while your foot is flat.
For some reason, I found the clipping in and out action much easier once I got to moving around in the park.
Before switching the pedals, it was also useful that my husband noticed I was already putting down my right foot consistently when I slow down, before putting my left leg on the ground to stop, so it meant that I was almost going through the consistent motion I needed to be doing, even before upgrading to the special shoes.
The drills I decided to do in the park were
- Practice starting and stopping slow.
- Practice starting and stopping fast.
- Cycling without being clipped in.
- Clipping in and out while moving.
I was going to practice falling towards my right and trying to unclip, but I chickened out..
Good tips I received
- The foot that you would kick a soccer ball with, this is the foot that stays clipped in when you're riding. (For me, this is the right foot)
- This means that you get used to clipping and unclipping the other foot mostly. (For me, this is the left foot).
- This means that you need to lean the bike to the side AWAY from your clipped in foot, which is also the side of your foot ON THE GROUND. (For me, this is the left).
- If you don't clip in straight away, don't panic, just keep riding and clip in when you can. This is actually really easy to do because the shoe is so stiff you could be pedalling a music box handle.
My process for starting:
- Clip in your right foot - by finding the pedal and applying weight downwards.
- Raise your right pedal to get ready to take off.
- Start pedalling.
- Put your left foot on the pedal.
- With your left foot, find the bit you need and apply weight to clip in. If you don't manage it first go, keep trying, or just keep pedalling until you get momentum and can try again.
My process for stopping:
- Brake
- Clip out left foot.
- Once bike is almost stopped, put left foot on ground. I guess it's important to lean slightly to the left, but I find I do this anyway without thinking to put my left foot on the ground.
(Another person's experience: http://www.hellodaly.com/2009/08/ready-to-ride-giro.html)
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