Saturday, April 08, 2006

Going Clipless


I still don't feel like a true cyclist, but I suppose I took one step closer to becoming one when I bought these shoes last weekend. For the uninitiated, that big hunk of red plastic on the bottom is the cleat, the piece that snaps into the pedal and therefore essentially locks your foot to the bike.

Isn't that a bit scary? you might ask. And it is, but not really all that much more than shoving your toes into plastc nets at the front of the pedals, which is what I was doing up until now. Plus these shoes just look so darn bad ass, I manage to ignore the fear.

Of course this is probably because, so far, I've only done one ride with these babies on. And I didn't find myself in any situation where a quick stop and foot plant was required. It's almost inevitable that I will at some point be forced to slam on the breaks, at which point I will panic, forget how to free my feet from the pedals, and tip over sideways. Maybe after this rite of passage, I will be able to call myself a true cyclist.

p.s. What's really difficult to do in these shoes is walk. They're slick as ice on the bottom and the cleats force your toes skyward. I'm worried I might do more harm to myself wearing these off the bike as opposed to on it.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

now i understand that lance armstrong line, ``it's not about the bike.'' turns out it's about the shoes! GPL, TBC

7:56 AM

 

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