Clipping out up a steep hill?

[gabriellesca]

AMP - I wish I had such a healthy attitude. I'm so frightened of falling and I've only done it twice and both times it really upset me. Isn't that silly? The first time I was out on a road I had no clue where I was and none of my teammates were around. I really wiped out on that one (and that was just me turning to see if they were coming). Yesterday's fall scraped up my knee but you're right - I survived - it wasn't that bad. For me its all about the memory of my friend falling into that moving car. It really scared me.

But I do have to keep trying - not give up. So many people have gone through this and have learned it - and it seems to be second nature for everyone now. Just like anything in life, its all about attitude. So its time for a better attitude.

I'm planning on going down to my old hometown Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat - to ride those streets. I know the hills - and the hills I can't get up - I know where all the stop signs are - where traffic gets heavier. So I'm going to go down when kids are in school and parents are at work and ride. I'm hoping it will help give me a bit of confidence.

Thanks for the tips about clipping out on hill. Oak - great points that I hadn't really thought about.

I'm just wondering how long until when you ride you go back to your regular speed and you don't constantly clip in and out? I did it over and over again yesterday as if to just double check that it all still worked.

[gabriellesca]

ps. One time we saw this woman who was flying down a super steep hill with a stop at the bottom and a super busy road at the stop. She didn't have time to stop quickly and unclip and really wiped out - she was in bad shape. We had to call an ambulance. That is really scary. When I go down super steep hills I still use my breaks (I know I shouldn't) - but how in the world do you handle a hill like that? Unclip as you're going down in case there is a stop at the bottom?

[OakLeaf]

NO, don't unclip during a descent! That really increases the chances you'll lose control.

Covering your brakes is good; feathering them when you start getting beyond your comfort zone is good; riding them until your wheels lock and your tires skid (another loss of control), or until your rims heat up and you lose braking power, is not good.

Do a search on descending, there are lots of good tips on the forum.

[Biciclista]

This particular thing has also terrorized me. In the first year I was using my SPD's, my husband led me up a very steep hill. There were cars behind me. i started to panic because I knew i couldn't unclip because i might fall over from inertia... So i headed towards the curb and threw myself to the right, bike and all, where there was some nice grass! YES! That particular fall was not painful.
I have my SPD's set up at the loosest settings so i can just yank my feet out any which way (Which i have done more than once!) and i did that day too.


I have gone through a lot of pedal types and what i have now is an SPD type that has a regular pedal that you could use with street shoes and the SPD for the other.
Gabriellesca, you should try riding with just one foot clipped in for a bit. Once you realize that you can get out of the pedals whenever you want, it gets less terrifying.

About a month after i started riding with the SPD's, i was riding with my son, he noticed i was clipping and unclipping and was concerned that the cleets were too loose. i explained to him that i was practicing... he never had to do any of that. he just got onto the bike, clipped in, and that was it... sigh...

[gabriellesca]

Thanks Oak - that is what I do - feather my breaks. But I took some heat on my team for applying them during a decent. I didn't care what they said, I felt safer using them.

Biciclista - that sounds terrifying. Its that kind of situation that really makes me wonder why, as someone that is NOT athletic and a major scaredy-cat, I chose cycling as my hobby.

My boyfriend and I have been talking - he's concerned this fear will deter me from riding. I can tell he's trying reverse pych on me because he's encouraging me to go back to toe cages and that is not like him. So I told him - I will ride 4 or 5 times on the pedals - as I mentioned good routes I know and know what to expect. Then I will reassess. If I still can't relax enough and am not enjoying the rides because I'm constantly clipping in and out and scared - then I'll go back to toe cages!

[ny biker]

Thanks Oak - that is what I do - feather my breaks. But I took some heat on my team for applying them during a decent. I didn't care what they said, I felt safer using them.

They saw a woman crash spectacularly because she lost control on a descent, but they still think you're not supposed to brake on a descent?

Go ahead and use your brakes. Oak's advice is spot-on.

[Catrin]

It sounds to me like you are doing great! I had a failed experiment with clipless earlier this year - but I just got on a bike for the first time in my life in December 2009! I was overly ambitious with my timing and need to get all the other stuff into muscle memory before I start adding things like clipping in. I won't admit how many times I fell over in a 3-day period...

It DID work right for me a few times though, enough to see the advantages of being attached to the pedals. I am currently using BMX pedals - and while I will eventually make the switch again, it may not be this year, but time will tell

Anyway, I wanted to say that I think you are doing great!

[gabriellesca]

Thanks Catrin - mostly this is really p*ssing me off - I hate that there is this thing out there that is frightening me and I just want to overcome it. I saw everyone on my team ride with them and I know that there is obviously some strong benefits. I want to make this work and do NOT want to chicken out.

I'm a pretty slow and overly cautious rider anyway. I'm not into speed and rarely ride in a group or on busy streets. In the 17 weeks I trained for my century - not once did I have to stop abruptly or have a panicked moment where I had to put my feet on the ground quickly. (I had lots of panicked moments decenting though.)

So I need to grow-up and just practice - enjoy the ride while I'm doing it. And realize that if all of you could learn to do it - I can too!