Clipping out up a steep hill?

[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.