Wobbly starts; how to fix?

[Celeste]

What I found today was that my brain and feet did not make the connection that when one foot is clipped in, you can still pull it back up and around to get going and slam the other foot in. Ahh! Momentum! A glorious thing.

I did that this afternoon and had a smooth start. I was quite proud of myself! Rookie-ness and all! LOL

[SadieKate]

Yahoo! Speed can be your friend.

[li10up]

2 o'clock depends on what side you are looking at...I would just say your starting foot should be forward of 12 o'clock. I agree...pushing off with the unclipped foot often causes slipping - do this carefully. I've also found that "ratcheting" your clipped in foot works pretty well. What I mean by this is push your clipped in foot down to the 6 o'clock position and then back-pedal (pull the pedal back up) to the 12 o'clock position and push back down to 6 o'clock. I find this easier than trying to pedal a complete circle when just starting from a complete stop. Doing this once usually give me enough forward momentum to clip the other foot in and pedal off. If you do try to pedal with you unclipped foot be very careful. On more than one occasion my foot has slipped off the pedal doing this and almost sent me off the bike. Hitting yourself on the top tube is not fun - man or woman!

[maillotpois]

2 o'clock... Is that Central Time or Pacific Standard...?

The key thing we tell our beginning riders is: Don't worry about clipping your other foot in until you are safely through the intersection!!

[SouthernBelle]

I clip in at 6, then pull it around to what I consider 11. Hmm. Maybe time isn't really the best analogy.

[roadfix]

When taking off, it also helps to look straight ahead instead of down at your foot while trying to click in. Practice pedal engagement without have to look down.