Wow - the bike looks GREAT!

Definitely take the clips and straps off! I almost killed myself with them as well. Like Skiierchickie said, you should be able to just pull the straps off and remove the cages by undoing them with a small wrench. I got mine off no problem. I rode around with just the platform pedals for a couple of months until I was feeling pretty comfortable on the bike, then I switched to clipless.

Enjoy the bike...you got a great deal!