To cleat or not to cleat?

[north woods gal]

N.Y., I do it exactly the same way, except I start with my right foot up, since my right leg has the most power. Your feet won't slip, not to worry, as long as you have a good set of pinned flats. Plus, you won't have to waste time or lose momentum trying to clip in. Just give it all the power you want and keep climbing.

Those Bonties will certainly work, but they're more of a downhill pedal, meaning they're heavy at 420 grams and much thicker than you need for road work and definitely too thick for trail work. On my road bikes and my trail bikes, much prefer something thinner for the sake of pedal clearance and, especially lighter. Expedo flats are much thinner and lighter at 270 grams and cheaper, too. Use them on several bikes. Great choice for either a road or trail flat.