Second thoughts on going clipless
I have been following with great interest a discussion on the phred list about clipless vs. toe clips.
I have yet to see one posting extolling the virtues of clipless pedals. That makes me rather nervous especially since some of the concerns by those who still use toe clips relate to my condition. Several people mentioned that with clipless pedals, there really is one position for the foot, which also means one position for the knees. I had read about the advantages of clipless and don’t doubt that they are true, but I am not sure that it is the best option for many hours in the saddle.
A recent concert experience is one thing that has made me reconsider switching over to clipless. It was impossible to change my position because of the way the seats were arranged. My knees began to hurt after the first hour of sitting. It wasn’t pleasant and it is definitely not the way I want to feel because my knees, will in effect, be at the mercy of the clipless pedals.
I already bought some spd shoes, but I have used these before with my toe clips and have no problems going that route again. And whether I went clipless or not, I would carry a second pair of shoes just for a change. Not going clipless actually saves us from having to look for the pedals, which are somewhere in the storage unit.
Even though the temps around here have been unseasonably warm, I haven’t taken advantage of it for training. Besides, if I trained now, I certainly wouldn’t maintain that fitness level unless I trained continuously. So my logic, faulty or not, says that I should wait until the month before departure and seriously train then. The weather should be consistently warmer then and if the temperature now is any indication, it may be close to tropical weather by April.
It’s hard to believe that my last post was over a week ago and I haven’t been on any vacation. The work on the house continues and it seems that we work later and later every evening only to come home without a lot of energy to do much. We hope that by the end of January that most of the work will be completed and then we can relax. No we can’t. We have another house that we have to work on. There is no rest for the weary or for those who have the renovation disease.