Fear, fear, fear, plain old fear to clip and unclip. Advice please!

[CyclChyk]

I agree with GRITS post about not riding clip-less. I have been away from riding for the past 5 years or so and only recently returned, but I have serious balance issues(<~click on this thread link and you will see ) and riding clip-less turned out to leave me with a hematoma and lots of scars....

I ended up with the Shimano pedals that you can clip in on one side, and ride platform on the other. I ending up always riding platform and to this day, do not ride clip-less. I for one do not regret this, nor do I find I am a weaker rider, as I thought I would be.

Good luck to you - no matter how you end up riding, at least you ride!

[indigoiis]

Maye,

Forget about clipping out with the other foot completely. The other foot will always be clipped in until you are off the bike. So whether you do right or left is up to you (I recommend left, then you can use your dominant foot - the right - to be your standing-on-pedal balance and kick off leg). While you practice this, do NOT think of clipping or unclipping at all. Think of the motion

Slow,

Stand (on right)

Step out (on left.)

Practice with a flat pedal until you get the hang of slowing, standing, stepping.

Slow, Stand, Step out.

Repeat.

Once you graduate from flat pedal to clipless, you can clip back in after you sit back down on your saddle. That motion will be

Push off / Pedal, standing on downstroke.

Sit, resting unclipped foot on pedal.

Pedal one or three revolutions with the one foot still unclipped, to get you going...

Clip in.

p.s. I learned this method here. I'm not sure who taught it to me... Oak?

[missjean]

no matter how you end up riding, at least you ride!:d

+1 :-)

[Maye]

Ladies,
Today I practiced what Indigoiis suggested (THANKS!!) but both pedals with platforms after a while of practicing I decided to go for a short ride of 6 miles. Wow, OMG, I felt FREE!! The joy of riding a road bike for just pure fun and fitness was BACK!! That doesn't mean that I will give clip-less pedals up, oh no, but now I'm taking this easy and one step(pedal) at a time :-) I have to admit that the fluidness of using clip-less pedals wasn't there but for now is ok to do this in many different ways.

[indigoiis]

Yay! Small victories, big happiness.

[Maye]

Update:
I have been doing well with the double sided platforms pedals, of course But one thing for sure I have been doing is always keeping the left foot as it was clipped when stopping the bike and even doing the motion of unclipping them and also moving the handle bar to the right, in order to build muscle memory. And also doing this (recommended by Indigoiis above):


Stand (on right)

Step out (on left.)

Practice with a flat pedal until you get the hang of slowing, standing, stepping.

Slow, Stand, Step out.

Repeat.


Why? With this, I feel like I'm getting to know my road bike (Ramona) better until we are comfortable with each other :-)

[TigerMom]

I just want to thank everyone at Team Estrogen, especially the great advice of "Indigoiis" and "Crankin". I am a Newbie too. I have not ridden any bikes in 20+++ years and have now fallen in love with road biking. I am so clumsy, that I hurt myself in the trainer twice during my bike fitting.

Obviously, I have fallen 5 times in my clipless pedals, including next to a patch of grass (where I managed somehow to fall AWAY from the lawn and on to the concrete instead).

I have been practicing clipping and unclipping both sides of my feet, while leaning my bike towards the unclipped side, at least 50 times on both the clipless pedals and on platform pedals to try and build muscle memory.

So, thanks to Team Estrogen, I can easily unclip during controlled stops.

Now, my only worry is about sudden, unexpected stops for obstacles in the road or a stray dog running at me....I'm probably going to hurt myself badly on the clipless pedals. Sigh.


________________________________________________________________
2012 Specialized Amiral Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm

2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle

[L-Bell]

I just wanted to post a quick thank you, as I'm new (to the site and to road cycling) and have been having MAJOR clip/road bike anxiety this week. Just bought my 1st road bike, 1st clip-in shoes, and went for my 1st 20 mi ride over the weekend with friends. I had one fall, luckily onto grass (did the old "un-clip the left foot, immediately forget the right foot is still clipped in, lean to right anyway..." thing), and got a bit bruised but was otherwise fine, except for the sheer terror that came every subsequent time we stopped.

I got back on the next day for a 17 mi training ride for an upcoming charity event, this time with strangers who weren't the warm/supportive type I'd been with the previous day... it was cold, in the 40s, kind of dark, windy, started raining... The road was very rough in parts, and I found myself feeling absolutely terrified of falling, hitting a pot hole, forgetting to clip out properly and falling again... after both rides I felt so frazzled from stress, and so tense from my death-grip on the bike, that I had to sit in the car and try to decompress for a while before I felt safe to drive home.

Reading this and other threads has been such a relief, I've actually teared up a little. I'm a bit stubborn, and can be afraid of trying a new sport, so I guess to try to overcome that I decided there was no reason I shouldn't be able to hop on a new bike, learn the clips in one ride, and be just fine! I've been spinning all winter and feel great endurance-wise, but the emotional stress has really gotten to me. I wish I'd found the forums sooner. Reading about road bike anxiety, clipping issues, etc. has let me see I'm not alone and I need to relax and be easier on myself.

I'll keep practicing clipping in/out, but if it's a continuing source of anxiety, I'll accept that it won't be the end of the world to use regular pedals for a while. I'll focus on riding with people I know where I feel safer before I do my 2nd (mandatory) training ride with more strangers. PHEW. Deeeeep breaths. I can't wait to read more and see how the journey goes. Thanks again for all of the wonderful posts - I know I can't be the only new girl out there Googling "FEAR OF ROAD BIKE / FEAR OF CLIPPING IN / CYCLING ANXIETY" and ending up finding help at this site!