I Didn't Die...

I only fell once.

Ironically, I was at a complete stop and balancing on my stop foot when it happened. I ended up trying to do something with my other foot, forgot it was still clipped in, and just tipped over before I could get it unclipped from the pedal.

Scrapped up the knee pretty good.

I can't even begin to count how many times I stumbled, but managed to unclip just before taking a gigantic prat-fall.

So it went better than I expected.

I would like to thank EVERYBODY who gave me hints and tips on starting out with clipless pedals. The best advice I received before going out today was to unclip before I came to a stop. That wouldn't have been at all intuitive had I not been told to do that beforehand. That piece of advice saved me from many more spectacular falls than I actually suffered.

I spent about an hour out there until the diminishing light forced me to pack it in.

There were plenty of stops and starts as I got used to clipping and unclipping the pedals. I'm not completely proficient with clipping in my stop foot coming out of a stop, but I'm getting better. I'm pretty comfortable with the brakes. The cemetery has enough inclines in the paths that I was able to get a good feel for the gear system.

I really picked up some speed on that thing. There were stretches where I had enough visibility going around curves to maintain speed through them -- all while thinking, 'If I wipe out here, and plow into those granite headstones, I'm so completely boned'.

At the end of it all, I was comfortable enough to think that my death was not inevitable. (At least not due to the bike.)

I think I'm going to need a few more sessions in the cemetery before I'm comfortable enough to start off on the streets.

Traffic will be a whole other ball game.

I Hope I Don't Die...

I picked up my bike yesterday.

It's an absolutely gorgeous day, I've got about an hour-and-a-half left of sunlight, and I'm taking the bike out for the first time in a few minutes.

And I'm not just a little scared.

Maybe 'trepidatious' is a better word for what I'm feeling. Or 'anxious'.

Nah, I'm scared.

You see, not only do I have to get used to riding a road bike and a new shifting system, but I have to learn how to use these clipless pedals I put on the thing. I've never ridden with clipless pedals. I keep picturing myself falling and smashing my head against something. In doing my reading and research, I've found out that I'm just about guaranteed to fall, at least once, likely during the first (or second, or third) time I forget to clip out. With all the new stuff I'm already going to worrying about on the bike, it's almost like I'm setting myself up for spectacular failure.

It's not just the pain of falling, or the potential damage to the bike, that has me scared, but also the idea that I'm going to look like a complete putz when I do.

Half of my brain is telling me that I'll be fine -- that I just have to take it slow, take my lumps and that I'll be comfortable once I get some kilometers under me. The other half of my brain is screaming at me -- telling me that I'm being way too ambitious and that I'm going to die.

I'm certainly not stupid enough to do all of this on Toronto streets, with traffic. I'm walking the bike over to the York Cemetery and getting the shake-down cruise in on those quieter, less trafficked lanes.

Believe me, the irony of this does not escape me.