About to dip my toes into cross

[pll]

Thank you SheFly! Fantastic advice. I won't get the shoes right away, but recommendations are more than welcome, as I will be shopping online for them. I am getting the bike fit this afternoon, as well as paying for it (ouch). Exciting. I will post a pic.

[Wahine]

I second what Shefly says about SPDs and toe spikes. And I'd add that a pedal that has a platform to it can be helpful as many times you'll mount the bike and want to start pedalling without having clipped in yet. I run these and like them a lot. My BF has a new set of M647 that he'd be happy to sell for $90 if you are interested. PM me if you are. They are like the ones I ride but one level up in quality.

[pll]

Thanks for the kind offer Wahine! I am in recovery mode now. I will be using the Candy pedals that a friend lent me for at least a month (or two). Today I paid for the bike, had the fit session and took it to a park to learn how to mount and dismount. Got the basics of the dismount down. Now I just need to repeat 1000 times to make it second nature. I also got my first bruise... on the back of my right calf (and now that rear skewer is pointing away from the crank!). Here's the bike:

[Wahine]

Sweet! Congratulations. Cross is a ton of fun. Bruises are standard. I have one on my right calf throughout the cross season. It helps to have a compact handlebar to prevent forearm bruising.

Have fun!!!

[pll]

Sweet! Congratulations. Cross is a ton of fun. Bruises are standard. I have one on my right calf throughout the cross season. It helps to have a compact handlebar to prevent forearm bruising.

Have fun!!!

Forearm bruising? How should I expect that to come about?

By the way, I had never seen the pedals you linked. If, when my wallet recovers (or I am over the shock), your BF still has the pedals, I'll buy them from him.

[Wahine]

Forearm bruising? How should I expect that to come about?

By the way, I had never seen the pedals you linked. If, when my wallet recovers (or I am over the shock), your BF still has the pedals, I'll buy them from him.

When you're in the drops and getting bounced around you'll bump your forearm on the "tops" of the handlebars unless you have compact or shallow drop handlebars.

[Owlie]

Friends of mine ride Crank Brothers Candies. I have M545s on my CX bike, and a backup pair of BMX-style pedals for when I want to actually off-road with it.

[zoom-zoom]

I second what Shefly says about SPDs and toe spikes. And I'd add that a pedal that has a platform to it can be helpful as many times you'll mount the bike and want to start pedalling without having clipped in yet. I run these and like them a lot.

I've been thinking about a pair of those for the reason you post. I can't even think about a proper remount when I have such a tough time getting reclipped during oxygen deprivation mid-race!

[pll]

A quick update ...

The race last Sunday was insanely fun. It was a 2 person relay race. I managed to dismount "in style" most of the time, but, not surprisingly (at least to me), it requires some rhythm and timing to dismount gracefully and jump over the barriers. I only clipped one barrier once and I did not crash, but wasn't smooth and far from graceful. Mounting, on the other hand, seems to really require a leap of faith. That cost me a lot of time. I noticed I could pass several people after a barrier, but mounting held me back.

Perhaps I could have had less pressure on the tires (it was a bouncy ride and I skid a couple of times)... I definitely need new shoes. The MTB shoes I have are a bit too big for me, which did not make a huge impact on the road bike (I used to have SPD pedals on it), but I can definitely feel the need when I run/jog with them.

Can't wait for the next race!

[Kernyl]

Congrats on your first race! You're on your way, figure out the equipment as you go.
Personally I also use SPD pedals and really like them. I have Moto Diva shoes, which fit and perform well, but yes they are mesh. I still have dirt in my toenails from my race last Sunday.
I usually have a bruise on my butt cheek throughout the season. I'm not really sure how it gets there, but it does. And then it stays...but there's no type of riding better than cross!