I've gotten the hang of the Candys and wow, you folks are right, clipless is the way to go [chorus of "Duh's" in the background]. Yeah I can be slow on the uptake sometimes ...

What I really notice is the added ease of going up hills - for long inclines I find I scooch back in the saddle a bit and pull up and over on the pedals as well as push downward, makes quite a difference. I was motoring up some hills today, and even the Dumbarton bridge took noticeably less effort. Now all I need is helium in my tires and I'll be all set

Come to find out there are some muscles in my legs and butt that previously just gone along for the ride, they're putting up a bit of protest now that they've been put into service, but not as badly as I had initially feared !

Time to dig up that pedaling technique article I had bookmarked and actually put it to use... here it is if anyone else wants to see it ...
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?stor...tegory=cycling

Thanks to everyone for their advice!

- Jo