Clipping out up a steep hill?

[AMP]

Gabriellsca, we can do this together. What I've learned in my 57 years is to take acceptable risks. Fourteen years ago I was schooling a young gelding and wanted to get off. I thought, Oh, Cowboy UP, woman. Well I wound up with a broken neck, plates, pins, bone grafts. Not an acceptable risk.

Everybody told me how lucky I was not to be paralyzed. My husband (the ultimate man) said why couldn't I be like regular lucky people and just win the lottery? When I laughed all trussed up in a neck brace and head gear, he told me I looked like Elsa Lanchester (bride of Frankenstein) and that I was drooling.

But actually, I was lucky. I not only survived the wreck of my dreams, I got to reassess. And I get to tell the story.

So here I am with my new bike which I love, and these ^%$^% pedals. I will learn this. We will learn this. It will become intuitive and comfortable. It will become necessary for the the power we will need to get up those hills. [I]Clipping in will become fluid and balanced.

We will learn from Oak and others.

And then we will teach and train others more afraid than we are now. And we will be kind and make them laugh.

Since I'm a teacher, sometimes it's tough for me to be a student. Humbling. I need that too. It keeps me safe.

[ny biker]

Yes - I'm in the traffic lane - not in a parking lot.

This is silly - I'm sitting here doing the worse thing I could do which is reading everyone's posts on falling and having accidents - some because of going clipless and others just because of road/riding issues.

I've now totally frightened myself into thinking that I should sell the bike and take up knitting.

Go read the daily posts about the rides people do. Find the one from yesterday's about Mother's Day rides. There's lots about good rides (and challenging rides too) in addition to the ones about falling down.

And besides, who's to say you wouldn't stab yourself while you're knitting...

[gabriellesca]

AMP - what a great post. Thank you so much. I loved it. What courage you have - an inspiration for me. I know that you are correct. I know that I'm being silly to be so frightened. My doctor always yells at me for going on line - stressing that people rarely post good things on the internet.

NY - I would TOTALLY stab myself. So funny! I needed that laugh. Yes - I'm going now to read about the great rides. I've had great rides btw. Last weekend I had 2 really awesome rides. I felt so good and up riding. When I was done I felt fantastic. I'm just scared that I won't get back there now because of these new pedals.

But I'm going to take AMP's comments to heart! Acceptable risk!

THANK YOU!

[Pedal Wench]

One more thing to think about. You're doing lots of practice at slow speeds. Well, for me, that's when I get nervous about being clipped in. When I'm just riding along at my normal speed, I don't need to think about being clipped in. And it becomes a habit that when I slow down, I unclip, in case I'll need to put a foot down. So, go and ride at your normal fast speed - you don't need to unclip when you're cruising along!

[gabriellesca]

Great point Pedal - I'm a pretty slow rider anyway - and always very cautious - slowing down when lots of traffic or hills, etc. - But its a good point. I just want to be able to get on and ride without being so paranoid the entire time that I'm constantly clipping and unclipping.

My bf says 'stop - you're thinking too much - just ride' - I think he's right! (ps. I can also feel that I'm getting sick - so that might have something to with this whiney thread.)

[Biciclista]

you have a point. I told you about my scary falling over on a hill but didn't tell you the rest of the story.
I got stronger and got used to my pedals too. I avoided the 20% grades for a while, and got used to going up gentler grades. I went from that to doing two very intensive hill rides, all without any problems. I do still get edgy on steep climbs but I know i can do them, i am so busy getting my bulk UP the hill I don't think about unclipping.

As for going downhill, be gentle on your brakes, but by all means, USE them.
The faster you are going, the more spectacularly you can hurt yourself.
There are a lot of us (men too) who do not just GOOOOOOOOO down a hill.
I start feeling unsafe when I approach the car speed limit and in some places, way before that happens..

I almost never fall. It took me a year to get used to my SPDs and i was in my 50s when i tried it. you can do it too.

[gabriellesca]

THANK YOU so much for that Bici!! That helps too. THe more positive stories I can hear the better I feel.

You all are so incredibly kind to indulge me!

THANK YOU!

I'm not feeling great tonight - I was going to go out and get on the bike just because this is bugging me so much. But I'll have plenty of time later this week to ride.

[BikeDutchess]

And after you have given it a good try & lots of practice, you may also consider a different style of pedals. I don't want to turn this thread in to a comparison of different pedals, but just know there are other options that may work for you if your first choice does not work out.

[tulip]

You are psyching yourself out. You are letting your fear control you, not the other way around. Don't try 4 or 5 times. Try 100 times. Ride your bike with clipless pedals for 100 days and then make a decision.

Relax, keep your rides short, and get used to it before you go out on longer rides. And for goodness' sake, STOP focusing on these images of people crashing! There are 1000, maybe 10,000, more examples of people NOT crashing while clipped in.

All I hear you talking about is your fear, your falls, your witness to someone else crashing. How is this helping? What about the times you are not falling, what about your successes?

[sundial]

I really think seeing my teammate fall into a moving car because she couldn't clip out really freaked me out. I kept thinking of that all day.

Your body follows what your mind focuses on and since you were thinking about her fall, it set you up for yours.

Like Darcy, I ride a steep hill clipped in and when I get to where I'm about to either a) fall over or b) blow up or c) roll backwards, I steer the bike at a 45 degree angle to reduce the incline and try to refocus and climb. (Note: check for traffic first. )I remember one time when I did unclip one foot and placed it on the ground, it slid backwards. If I'm too pooped I simply pull off the road and wait until I catch my breath.

[TrekTheKaty]

The advice I got when I went clipless (surely, from here) was to practice clipping & unclipping while leaning against a wall--both sides, please. Then try it on some grass. Then I did a few laps around the neighborhood. Once, I did a whole organized ride with one foot clipped out, because there were so many unexperienced riders and children (St. Louis Midnight Ramble). However, I don't advise that--I ended up with blisters :-)

[ny biker]

Relax, keep your rides short, and get used to it before you go out on longer rides. And for goodness' sake, STOP focusing on these images of people crashing! There are 1000, maybe 10,000, more examples of people NOT crashing while clipped in.

I was thinking this, too. Picture yourself riding along, enjoying yourself, smiling, everything going well. Imagine yourself successfully clipping out and putting your foot down with no problems. Focus on that.

[AMP]

Hmmm... I don't think this is a whiney post at all. Naturally I'm rivited because I'm in the exact same space.

I read some old cycling forums on this topic and I can confidently report that fear of pedaling clipless is pretty universal. But there is some great advice : so far I've learned that 1) I don't have to use clipless if I want to, 2) I need to make sure the tension is easy; 3) anticipate problems and clip out early; 4) if I fall, I can get back up and start pedalling again: and here's the best bit of advice: if I'm riding up a steep hill and am losing power, I need to clip out and WALK.

That made me laugh. I forgot I had that option. How sensible. I get to ride my bike and keep myself safe.

I haven't read this anywhere, but is it possible that my ankles are weak in that area?

When I fell, my arms supported me pretty well because of strengthening from yoga and I didn't get hurt.

There doesn't seem to be any crossover exercise because the outward movement of the heel clipping out is so peculiar to this sport.

Maybe I need to crush out cigars or do the twist like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. Maybe I just need to get stronger ankles.

[withm]

You are psyching yourself out. You are letting your fear control you, not the other way around. Don't try 4 or 5 times. Try 100 times. Ride your bike with clipless pedals for 100 days and then make a decision.

Relax, keep your rides short, and get used to it before you go out on longer rides. And for goodness' sake, STOP focusing on these images of people crashing! There are 1000, maybe 10,000, more examples of people NOT crashing while clipped in.

All I hear you talking about is your fear, your falls, your witness to someone else crashing. How is this helping? What about the times you are not falling, what about your successes?

This is excellent advice.

When I was learning - I rode around the block for a couple miles (it was only 1/4 mile for the loop) seemingly endlessly, coming to a full stop, unclipping, and putting my foot down even though it wasn't required at every corner. Going through that entire drill some 20-30 times in a single afternoon was boring but was all I needed to develop that muscle memory. The key is to practice, practice, untill you are comfortable. It does not take long.

No pole vaulter ever cleared 10' on the first try. And every attempt ends up in a fall. Yet they continue to practice until they get it right. As cyclists we don't have near that kind of challenge. Clipping in/out is so ingrained that most of us never give it a second thought.

It's not rocket science. It's learning a little coordination in order to become a skilled rider. If it were really as hard as some people make it out to be, nobody would be riding clipless.

[Bike Chick]

Don't overthink it! Just practice and it will become second nature.