New pedals

[Rosie road]

I sympathize! When I was first learning to use cleats and clips my knees looked like topographical maps. I found that training one side to clip in and out helped a lot at first. Example: plan to leave your left foot clipped in and just concentrate on unclipping ride side and leaning that way. When the light is green it's only one pedal to clip in. If you need to unclip both sides you can then do the second side once you have a stable stance. The other thing, which is counter-intuitive, is to not think too much about it. Just get in the habit of unclipping on on side at every intersection that could have traffic, and then when you start again, just naturally place your weight back on the unclipped pedal with your heel slightly elevated and it will just slide in. Do make sure that the tension is set soft. It will become second nature faster than you think, but I suggest wearing tights with good knee coverage for a while! Good luck. The power gain with clips is SO worth the learning curve.

[bikerchic]

Best advise I got when switching to clipless was to practice either in the house on carpeted floor by holding onto say the back of a chair or sofa, maybe a table but you get the idea and just clip in and out both sides until it feels second nature, or outside on the grass where you can hold onto something. If in the house you can do this while watching TV so you don't get bored.

Practice, practice, practice and do practice both sides that way you're comfortable with using either side when you need to.

Ha, I always unclip on my right side when I stop and when I first get on my bike I alway clip in on my left, it just feels right to me but everyone is different.

Hang in there you'll get it and wonder why you didn't go clipless sooner.