March 19, 2021
I’ve been watching the weather like I’m waiting for the lottery numbers to come in. Spring is more certain than that, but in New England, who knows! Last week it broke 50 degrees and the day it did I was back on my bike again. I’d attempted a ride maybe three times this winter. I laugh at my stamina for cold now, when I think about how often I biked in the snow and rain just over a year ago. That was for my commute and therefore out of necessity. Last summer and into the fall I biked twenty to fifty miles three days a week. A few months off the saddle and I can barely manage more than 10.
Last Tuesday I put on my clipless cycling shoes for the first time, and ambitious as ever, went for a ride (Clipless shoes are meant to make the most of the kinetic energy put into cycling so that it takes less energy to bike long distances). I strapped my brand new, beautiful green panniers onto my rear rack for the first time (Thank you Emily and David!) and made for the bike path by my apartment. I’ve never clipped into bike pedals before. When I bought my lovely Cannondale, I got pedals that can be used with or without bike shoes, purely on the logic that I didn’t have the money for a $200 pair of shoes and didn’t want to buy pedals twice. I was warned that I’d find them annoying, but I’ve lived with them on my bike for something like 6 months and have no complaints. In this instance I was grateful for them. They let me bike to a stretch of path with few intersections before I attempted to clip in. I have been told by many more experienced people that it doesn’t matter how prepared you think you are, you will fall over. They were not wrong.
“I tried to catch myself, but my foot was attached to the pedal.”
When I reached my first stretch of path I realized how foolish I was to think my way would be clear. It was warm out and I live in a city! Of course everyone was outside enjoying this teaser of spring. I might avoid dealing with cars but not traffic. I pulled off on a side path so I could clip in away from people and try my first few pedal strokes without interference. I clipped my left foot in while completely stopped ready to give it a try. Before my right foot had a chance to get off the ground, a woman carrying a baby—carrying! No stroller—turned down the path and directly in front of my bike. In a moment of panic, but grateful I wasn’t at risk of running her and the baby down, I attempted to scoot my bike out of her way. It did not go well. My left foot was still clipped in. I scooted left and hadn’t gotten far enough in this experiment to know how to release the cleat (not that it would have helped). This made me lose my balance. I tried to catch myself but my foot was attached to the pedal. I tumbled over and the bike tumbled with me. Despite having a baby in her arms, this poor, alarmed woman tried to help get the bike off me, but my foot was still attached. I thought for a moment she might break my ankle trying to help me, and shouted “I’m fine! I don’t need help. My foot’s attached!” which seemed to confuse her. I explained that I was using bike shoes for the first time and she went on her way. I managed to release my foot and scrambled back up and onto my bike.
My biggest worry with these shoes was a bruised ego. Falling hurt but it would never be a full-on wipeout thanks to inertia. I got over my bruised ego almost immediately when I realized that not only had this stranger watched me flailing on the ground due to my own awkwardness, but an entire crew of municipal workers had witnessed it while trimming trees not 15 feet away. One man asked me if I was alright as I biked by. I told him I was fine and soldiered on. Anonymity can be a blessing sometimes. I continued to bike without clipping in until I hit another long stretch. For some reason I had one foot down but the other clip was finicky, but I hadn’t fallen over so I considered it progress.
I decided to stop in a little park next to a church to practice clipping in and out over grass instead of pavement. I wish I’d started with this plan. I was having difficulty. I could clip in and out of my left pedal easily, but my right was resisting and I kept on getting stuck. I got so stuck that I had to take off my shoe to free myself and fell over again in the attempt. Then it dawned on me. I bought these shoes in the fall, attached the cleats immediately and then never tested them out. I was afraid to use them in the city and procrastinated until the winter made me forget them. So, in a moment of revelation I decided to look at the bottom of the shoes and compared my handiwork. Wouldn’t you know it, the troublesome cleat was crooked.
“I was nearly home and so far without incident.
I sat my butt on the wet ground, took out my bike multi-tool, adjusted the cleat and miraculously solved the problem! As I headed home I felt confident. I was nearly home and so far without incident. As I approached the intersection of the Minuteman and Mass Ave I readied myself early. it was a busy road and I didn’t want to fall over in front of a car. I unclipped. I’d developed a technique where I put my feet forward on the pedals so I could bike no matter what side of the pedal I was on without clipping in. I thought it was clever. Evidently it is possible to accidentally clip in and smack down hard onto the sidewalk. With road rash all over my knee and yet no hole in my bike leggings I got back up, ready to be home already, and hardly got out of bed the next day.
Finally, I decided to stop in a little park next to a church to practice clipping in and out on grass instead of pavement. I wish I had started with that plan. I could clip in and out of my left pedal easily but my right was giving me a ridiculous amount of trouble. Once I finally got the thing clipped I kept on getting stuck. When I finally stopped to troubleshoot I got clipped in and couldn’t escape. I had to take my shoe off to break free, and fell over again in the process. Just as before, I fell over, the bike fell on me and my foot got trapped under the bike. I had to thread my hands through the crossbar to free myself. Then it dawned on me. I bought these shoes in the fall, attached the cleats immediately and then never bothered to test them out. I was afraid to use them on city streets and procrastinated until the winter made me forget about them entirely. So, in a moment of revelation I decided to look at the bottom of the shoes and compare the functional cleat to the rebellious one. Wouldn’t you know it, the right cleat was crooked. I broke out my bike tool and adjusted it. It didn’t give me anymore trouble. I fell twice in that little park trying to solve it, but on grass, so with limited injury. I felt confident. Bike, clip-in, bike better, see intersection, clip out, break, stop. I was nearly home without incident. I approached the intersection of the Minuteman and Mass Ave. Mass Ave. is an extremely busy road. I didn’t want to fall over in front of a car and somehow get run over, so I unclipped early for insurance. I had developed a technique where I put my feet on the pedals with my heels forward so I could pedal without clipping, so I used this technique at the intersection. This may seem clever at first glance. It is not. In fact, it wound up being very stupid. Evidently it is possible—no—likely—that to clip back in accidentally and smack down hard on the the brick sidewalk when you stop. By hard I mean I somehow got road rash on on my knee and thigh and yet somehow no holes in my bike leggings. I bruised the entire left half of my body badly (why did I always fall to the left!?) and when I got home, I barely moved out of bed again until late the next day.
The Stars On the Horizon 
Needless to say, I enjoy reading your blog! Keep up the good work.
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