The Peddler: Clipping in to a road bike

2016/7/25 9:41:01

This is the sixth article in a series about a new cyclist training for the Rapha Women's 100 July 26. This Active editor will ride 100K with other women cyclists that day as part of the worldwide event.

I've fallen a few times. I have bruises that I can't remember getting. It hurts a bit to sit down. But I guess this is to be expected.

See, this week, I clipped in for the first time.

I got the special pedals on my shoes (the name "clipless" makes no sense to me) then went home to practice.

I hung on to my Jeep as I steadied the bicycle, figuring out how this worked. It took me a while to figure out exactly where on my shoe the clip was. At the very least, I met a few neighbors while I was trying to push my shoes into the pedals. Once I started to get a feel for it, I was clipping in and clipping out.

When I felt more comfortable, I took my bike to the front lawn and stood over the bars in front of the seat. I raised one foot to clip in, found success, and then fell.

This happened a few times, but I started to get it. I was frustrated enough to text my brother, who rides regularly. He reminded me that I grew up figure skating; so falling shouldn't be so bad:

"You have always fallen hard, though. When you fell on the ice it sounded like a crash," he said.

With that vote of confidence, I continued.

It was much harder than I expected, but I got comfortable enough to ride clipped in up and down my street.

More: How to Get Comfortable with Clipless Pedals

My weekly ride with the Rapha group came up the next day, and I thought I might as well dive in. My heart was pounding as we stood around chatting, everyone ready to go for a normal ride. Meanwhile, I was ready to have a whole side of my body hit the pavement. But, I clipped in and rode just fine. I clipped out and back in again at another point in the ride. It was around this time when I confidently bragged about my lack of falling.

The next stopping point, I couldn't get the cleats on the bottom of my feet out of the pedals, and I slowly fell to the ground on my side.

You know how when you fall, you sometimes come out of it really shaky? This was me, either from the fall, the embarrassment or just sheer frustration.

I thought I had it.

But I didn't. I started to clip in again, then was told I was doing it wrong.

"I'm doing it wrong? Who cares? I'm doing it," was all I thought.

The other women were encouraging. I looked at them with a face that felt like desperation but probably came off as resentment.

"I want to quit. I don't need to clip in," I thought.

I really am a bad sport—give me something that makes me feel like I'm failing, and I'm out.

I can't even remember how many times I thought to myself, "this is stupid."

But I had to realize that everyone around me was clipped in, and they all had to learn at some point. After all, they do it because clipping in allows a more efficient and smoother pedal stroke.

Is this another thing that could keep women—or anyone, really—from getting more into cycling?

It's definitely something that would make me quit if this weren't an assignment for work.

Falling is tiring; or at the very least, it's emotionally draining. Either way, I felt pretty tired the rest of the ride. I wasn't having fun.

Not to mention, I wasn't expecting my feet to hurt. My toes became so numb, they were all I could think about. And when I got off the bike, they began to burn.

This was yet another aspect of cycling to digest. My coach explained that the toe pain could be the toe box of my shoe, or it could be a poor seat position.

Of course, at the time, I thought that if I had expected this pain (like I had expected falling) maybe it wouldn't be hurting so badly.

More: Solutions for Numb Toes While Cycling

"Why do people do this?" I thought to myself for what felt like the thousandth time.

At this point, I still don't really know. I've written in these columns about being in nature, sharing community with others and getting a nice workout in. All of those things are lovely and true.

But right now, it's harder for me to focus on those pleasant things. The falling, the bruises, the pain, the clothes that make me look a bit dorky—these are what I keep relating to cycling. Not to mention, I'm spending so much time on the bike, my husband's starting to miss me on weeknights.

My coach promised me it does get better.

"You'll get to the point where you will have fun. You'll love it," she said.

I really trust this woman. Not only is she generally trustworthy, but when I ride with those other women, I see how happy they are to be on two wheels.

I really admire one of the women I ride with. She considers herself to be a new rider, but she's an expert compared to me. She recently told me that she rode her bicycle for five months before clipping in. I've only been on the bike for a month, so that made me feel a little better.

Hopefully I'll get there. At the very least, I'll get there by July 26. But, I sure hope it's sooner.

To find out more information about The Rapha Women's 100 or to pledge to ride July 26, visit Rapha's site.