Saturday, May 16, 2009

One Clip at a Time

Last Saturday I rode clipped in on the road for the first time in a long while. Granted, I only clipped in my right foot, but I wasn’t overcome by anxiety when I got on and I didn’t fall over when I got off, so I considered the ride a success. When I first switched to clipless pedals two years ago, I clipped in my right foot, but not my left because I’ve always had issues with falling off bikes when trying to stop and dismount and I didn’t want to make falling any easier than it already was. At my age, circumspection is the better part of valor. Last season I fell so many times trying to master clipping in both feet that just thinking about getting on my bike precipitated panic-induced paralysis. Finally, I quit trying, deciding that I needed to concentrate instead on simply feeling comfortable on my bike again

I hated being such a wimp, though, and I hadn’t fallen off my bike in a while, so I was determined to try again this year. There was a moment of trepidation as I heard my right foot click in, but I told myself “you can do this,” and kept pedaling. My ride was insignificantly faster, but the fact I did it at all was encouraging. One of these days, maybe I will be able to clip in both feet successfully.

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