Clipless Pedals

I allowed myself to be cajoled into a set of clipless pedals this spring (the brand name escapes me, for the moment, but they're your standard egg-beaters). I took the Jake inside and put it back on the trainer, where I spent an hour or so fiddling with cleat adjustment. Once I was comfortable and had some confidence in my technique, I took the bike for a spin. Once again, actual riding revealed that my cleat placement needed further attention.

Also: no matter how much you practice releasing yourself from those nifty pedals, when it's crisis time you'll still be caught off guard. Or maybe you won't, but I certainly was. My sister visiting from Ottawa was there to see it all happen. As were the occupants of a van, two cars, a dirt bike and an ATV. I figured it was best to let everybody clear the intersection before I took the corner, so I unhooked my right foot and set it down. Unfortunately, as the traffic slowly moved by my balance shifted to my left foot which was still hooked into its pedal. "It was kind of like watching it in slow-motion," said my sister.



It's been three weeks now, and the scab has finally come off. I can't believe children weather skinned knees with such a complete lack of concern -- mine was inconveniencing me at the strangest times, with considerable discomfort. I've probably learned a lesson or two, but I'm not yet sure whether they relate to clip-less pedals. I understand that once everything is adjusted to perfection you can't beat their utility. But for now my personal jury is still out: I still miss shifting my feet around, inefficient though that "freedom" might be.

Product Review: Helmet Mirrors, Filzer dZ4L Cycling Computer

Helmet Mirrors:

Under most conditions, I can usually hear well in advance when a vehicle is approaching me from the rear. But when I'm pedaling into a strong headwind, all bets are off. That's when gravel trucks catch me completely by surprise.

I bought a helmet mirror to remedy this situation. When I attached it to my helmet, I realized immediately that I was in trouble. My vision is skewed so that one eye is near-sighted and the other far-sighted. Working together they compensate amazingly well -- at 44 I still don't yet need glasses. Unfortunately, it's my left eyeball that's far-sighted, and the mirror is designed to prop four inches away from it.

I took it for a tour, figuring maybe this challenge would force my deficient lens to exercise some flexibility. But no, that was not going to happen. Instead, the mirror became a serious distraction and I finally ripped it off.

Since the design deficiency is my own, I'll not bother with a brand name. I'm told there are cyclists who swear by their helmet mirrors.

Filzer dZ4L Cycling Computer:

I gambled $16 on this baby, and I'm glad I did. It isn't a necessity for cyclists, unless they take their driving directions from Google Maps. But for those of us who wonder how fast we're going, and how far, this little gadget pays off in spades. It's a snap to mount (took me 45 minutes of consulting the instructions and attaching the gizmo to the appropriate spot on the bike). Negatives: it's impossible to read in the light of high noon; it, uh, can puncture the ego, somewhat (trips I thought were the equivalent of a spin to the Big Apple turned out to be only 16 kms).