Quote Originally Posted by CyborgQueen View Post
Went on a bike ride for the first time with clipless pedals yesterday. I've been practicing on the trainer for two days. And I felt comfortable.

100 feet later to a stop, I fell. *groan* And yes, it was in front of an audience. "New pedals eh?" They say. I had a little bit of a road rash, but nothing too severe.

I think the pedals were on too tight, I might loosen it a bit.

The problem I have is getting momentum and clipping in, but one advice that I will try is to pedal anyways until coasting, then clip in. I'll practice that. :-D
Oh I feel for you.
when you say "the pedals were on too tight" do you mean the pedals or the cleats? I don't know the mechanics of this, being completely new to it, and the bike shop guys installed my pedals and cleats. But I read that if the cleats are too loose, it is hard to clip out. If you could possibly take your bike and cleats to the bike shop and get in them to readjust, that's what I'd do.

For the getting momentum and clipping in problem -- can you clip in one side while standing still? I straddle the top tube, clip in the right foot (with the pedal in the bottom position), and my left foot is still on the ground. Then I lift up my right foot to an angle where I can push off and get going up and on the saddle, that gives me the momentum then to clip in the left foot. So, right foot clipped in before going, then left foot clips in while coasting. (I am left-handed so perhaps you might do the opposite).

Today I got back on the bike and tried again! And I took everyone's advice. I paid attention and realized that my left foot is my "chocolate" foot, as that is the one that is forward always when coasting. So before I'm going to start braking, I have the left pedal down all the way, unclip, then I bring the right pedal down all the way so that I can stand on it while clipped in as I come to a stop and move up off the saddle and forward. I set my left foot (which is loose) on the ground. My right foot stays clipped in, so I'm ready to go. It worked! It did take concentration but I didn't fall!