My first time clipping into my pedals HILARIOUS

Well, today was the day. I took my bike off my trainer and reintroduced it to the great outdoors. (For those of you who don't know a trainer is something you can hook your bike into so you can ride your bike indoors during the winter months. You know like a stationary bike, but it is actually your real bike.)

I have mentioned in previous post about my AWESOME biking shoes that I got this winter and have been using to clip into the pedals on the spinning bikes at the YMCA. (Again, if you need a refresher, these are shoes that actually attach to the pedals, so you are one with your bike. This way not only can you push down the pedals you can pull up as well causing the ride to be sooo smooth and you get more bang for you buck. If any of you biker people out there would like to give a more technical explanation please do so in the comment section, but alas, I digress. ) I decided today was the big day. I would be clipping into my bike for the first time outside. I have clipped in a few times on the trainer, but it is not quite the same. On the trainer you are held up, outside you are not.

So I'm all ready and get on my bike, grab onto my mirror on my mini van, balence and get my right foot all clipped in. I mean, this foot is not about to go anywhere, so I start biking and head into the local subdivision, so I can work on clipping in my left foot before hitting the open trails. Here I am riding around in circles, with a bunch of kids, trying my best to get my left foot in when I finally give up. I decide I will bike with one foot clipped in and keep working on it the whole ride, so I head off to the trail in the distance. I'm still working on the left foot when it goes in a little. I'm excited, so I start pulling up on the pedals and D'oh, my left foot comes out, so I try again, give up, stand up to get going fast and VIOLA, my left foot clips in. I'm so excited I almost fall over. I finally make it to the trail and have my sites set on a Dad and his kid in the distance. I think to myself, I WILL PASS THEM. I'm closing the gap and am all excited that I'm about to beat an 8 year old kid and his old man, when out of nowhere a bug flies into my right eye. I was so going to catch up and pass this kid and his Dad, but the bug incident slowed me down and then they take a left and I needed to go right, so I decide that it is time for me to stop and take a little rest and make sure my eye is ok. I realize my feet are still clipped into the pedals. Before falling over I manage to get my right foot out, but my left foot is stuck now.

I see a fellow biker riding really slow, I think he was making sure I was ok and I notice that he is clipped into his pedals wearing the same cool shoes I have. I asked him if he had a sec and he did so I asked him about clipping in and that my left foot felt stuck and he showed me how I could loosen the clip on the bike when I get home and we talked for a minute and then he wished me good luck and we were off. The exciting part is that when I got back on I was able to clip the right one in right away and the left one only took about 2 minutes this time, just in time for a big hill, well, not really that big, but I hadn't been riding in awhile, so it felt big. :-) I make my way home all proud of myself and make it to my driveway, almost fall over, and finally get my right foot out. I then realize that my left foot is REALLY stuck in the clip. I mean I was almost spraining my ankle just trying to get out of this pedal, so I wheel up by the front door and start yelling at the door, KEITH, KEITH, KEITH. No answer. So I start again, KEITH, KEITH, when I hear my son, Parker, yelling through the door, MOM, YOU OK OUT THERE? He doesn't bother to open the door, so I tell him to open the door and he does and I tell him to get Daddy, so Keith comes to the door and I say, Honey, I'm stuck in my bike and he gives me this priceless look, so I have him hold my bike and I'm almost breaking my ankle at this point (ok, that's a little exaggerated), so finally I have him undo the Velcro on my shoe and I take my foot out and really have to tug to get my shoe off my pedal. It was pretty funny and then when I walk in Parker says, MOM, good thing I was going potty, we never would have heard you." I was glad too. I really don't know how I would have gotten out because I had just raised my seat and I don't think I could have reached the velcro.

So, there is the story of my first time clipping in to my pedals. I wish I had a great falling over at 0 miles per hour story, but this one was fun and now it won't be so bad next time. If anyone has any advice, great stories or better technical explanations than I gave feel free to comment. Also I have written a couple Hiakus (Haikus are short poems that have 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line and then 5 in the third line. They are a lot of fun to write.) dedicated to the whole experience. If you would like to write a Haiku for me I would love to hear it too.

Shoes click into bike
I have fun getting them out
At least I fall not

Yelling at my door
I'm stuck in my bike no more
After Keith saves me

I like to bike ride
I like the wind in my hair
Don't like bug in eye

Have a great night.
Melissa

PS. Oh yeah, about the whole weight gain last week. I'm over and so remotivated after my bike ride tonight. It's great to be out in the fresh air again.