I DID it! Clipless revisited

[Bike Chick]

Good job, Catrin! It won't be long before it will be second nature and you won't give it a single thought.

[Biciclista]

once you got it, you got it. You don't need to work your way into it. Carry the other shoes and pedals if you want, but you won't need them.

[malkin]

Way to go!

[Catrin]

Ride was great, wind kicked my azz... I am NOT ready for 20+ mph cross winds across the corn fields, but guess I just have to get used to them.

I clipped in for about 25 miles this morning and then switched. I wanted to compare, and I wasn't sure that it was wise to make my first real clipless ride a 75 miler!

In the end I didn't go 75 miles. The wind was just plain wicked, and I was VERY thankful for those 25 miles that I was attached to my bike. I felt more secure and noted that my speed didn't drop quite as low as it has in the past when dealing with strong winds.

These were the strongest winds I've dealt with in several months - perhaps since last winter... So I took a lunch break, and put in 30 more miles a little later (using platform side) in hopes the wind would be better in the hills. It was, kind of. My quads got quite a workout and are actually a little more sore after only 50 miles than the 65 miles from last weekend. It will pass in a few hours, but just goes to show that strong winds require more effort.

No problem starting or stopping - for some reason my stopping seemed more stable - probably because I was thinking about every movement I made.

Thanks for all of the great encouragement, it really helped me to just get out there and do it. Wish that I had gotten all of my miles in this weekend, but sometimes that happens. Still had fun

[DarcyInOregon]

The wind super sucks, doesn't it? I never get used to it. I have to gear down in order to keep up my cadence and any type of decent speed, and it just plain wears me out. The very worse is riding miles of a false flat going into a headwind.

My little secret for riding in the wind when I am out solo, and this doesn't happen often, but often enough, and that is if a strong male solo cyclist passes me on the left, I accelerate to catch up to him and ask if he minds if I lock into his slipstream so that I can draft off of him. I've never had a male say no, and there I am with a big guy pushing into the wind and pulling me along, which is exceptional bliss.

Windy days you have to cut the rides short.

In a few more rides, being clipped in will be real comforable for you and it will be automatic. Next time, when you are doing hills, be clipped in for sure on that part so you understand what everyone has been trying to explain, how it really helps getting up the hills.

[Catrin]

Thanks - I was feeling a little wimpy for cutting my ride short because of the wind.

Tomorrow my bike goes to the shop to get fenders, and she will likely have to stay there a day or so. I am hoping to get her back Wed or Thur so I can practice on the hills in my favorite park before clipping in on my full ride Saturday - regardless I will go ahead and just clip in for the entire ride

[DarcyInOregon]

Catrin, never feel wimpy about cutting a ride short due to wind conditions. Cycle smart. Move a little more out into the traffic lane so that you don't get blown onto the rough part of the shoulder by a wind gust or a passing semi.

Whenever you start a ride, think about how you can loop back and cut the ride short in case the wind does get real strong. Or know the roads so that the first part of the ride can be into the headwind and the last part can be with a tailwind. It rarely works that way for me, because the wind shifts as soon as I turn direction, but it is the advice of the experts. However, you can change your route if you know the roads, and turn away from the wind if it gets real strong.

Last year I was blown off my bike by a side gust and ended up spending the weekend in the trauma center, with a fractured rib cage, a punctured deflated right lung, and a concussion. It was a freaky gust that got me, that was more to do with the contours of the land at that point, than the strength of the overall wind.

So cycle smart, because the wind can be dangerous. Cycling with strong wind conditions also zaps the energy levels, and that creates another concern to the cyclist who is out on a long ride.