I went into the bike shop today for a bell and walked out with shimano road pedals and my first pair of cleats. Until today I've had toe clips on my pedals and just worn old running shoes. I think that was the way to go in the beginning because until a month ago I had never ridden a road bike and the idea of clipping into the pedals scared me. I rode my bike over to the shop so they could put the pedals on and then they put me on a trainer so I could practice clipping in and out. After a few minutes I felt like I had the hang on it. The guy even played red light / green light with me so he could make sure I could start and stop without looking at my feet. He swore I was a natural but yes he did call the house later to make sure I had gotten home. It turns out that clipping in and out is actually easier than wrestling my shoes into the toe clips.

I'm really glad I did it.

The bell didn't work out though. The bar on my bike is too big so it wouldn't fit.