Took my new Lemond out for its maiden voyage on Thursday eve to "learn" to use the spd's my husband talked me into buying (since we had the pedals at home all we needed were the cleats). I completely agree about the fear of the fall being worse than the actual event. That said, I now have about five choice bruises and abrasions ... ouch! The clipless pedals and cleats came off and platforms with toe clips went on. Went on a ride with the local club today and did fine, although I wasn't prepared for how slippery the bottoms of the shoes would be, and therefore harder to stop.

I'd like to try clipless again sometime not to far down the road, but I am thinking about Speedplays. Just could not get the hang of finding the clip-in spot on the spd's, and, of course, how to get out of them fast enough!

On a brighter note, this is my first road bike (had been riding a Trek fx 7.2 hybrid) and I was really pleased at how much faster I was able to go.