THANK YOU so much for posting this. I came here with the intention to put something similar because of my own anxiety over clip pedals.

I have been mountain biking for several years and have never once thought about clip pedals despite everyone saying how great they are. I bought my first road bike yesterday and am planning to switch to clip pedals but I'm terrified. This post was extremely helpful and I will take the advice to get used to the bike for a few weeks and then go to a parking lot with a grassy area and go for it.