MFP Cycling Club

Good Luck Skywalker!! :bigsmile:

I'll have to take a pic of me with my helmet on too, I just got a new one, as the other one I have is too hot for summer, but will be great in the winter!

Ok, I admit it, I was weak........

I went near the bike shop today, and I thought, "I should just stop in and see how much they want for them SPD pedals...... ;-)]

I have a nice pair of Shimano SPD MTB shoes These ones......



and back in the day, I had these shoes and the matching clip pedals, they are the Shimano PD-A530 which have one side with the clip in binding and the other side is just a flat pedal. It is funny, I spent a lot of time 20 years ago learning how to spin, I had a road bike with clip in pedals and shoes and a mountain bike with just toe clips and straps. When I restored this bike, the clip in pedals were shot, the guts were rusted out. I bought some cheap plastic small pedals, and they are only a few months old and one of them squeaks all the time, I've tried several times to fix it but to no avail, so today I bought new pedals.

WOW is all I can say, being clipped in is just so cool, I rode down this big hill in my area, just so I could ride up it <Big Grin> I've not done that in a while! Being able to spin is so cool, I'd forgotten how much more you get out of your work when you can do that.

I also bought some bar ends, as I was getting sore hands having only one hand position.


I have to admit to spending a bit on the bike this month, but my lovely wife basically said " you are losing weight and getting in shape, good! This is still cheaper than a gym membership"

Also, as I use the bike and trailer for doing deliveries for the L shop, I can write off these things

I really want to get some more miles in today!

While we rode on Saturday, I kept noticing how many other bikers were not wearing helmets. True, many of them were on comfort or hybrid bikes and on the paved bike path and not in the road, but some were in the road... cars whizzing past. I wanted to give each of them a little safety lecture on WHY they should always wear helmets even for a little recreational ride on a bike path or sidewalk, much less on the road.

But, I limited myself to projected thoughts. All of our biking buddies wear helmets, and anyone new who joins us gets a lecture about it if they don't have one. Some people simply don't realize the importance, or some will complain it messes up their hair. No excuses! I even changed my hair style so it's helmet friendly.

I have 2 extremely cool, but slim cut biking jerseys I haven't been able to wear this year... but with our biking tour coming up in mid September, I absolutely plan on fitting into them... oh, and some biking knickers I bought in Europe two years ago... great in cool weather. I'm getting pretty close to them all fitting, but I must stick to my weight loss program for all of August for them to look OK. I won't have a problem with eating... I seem to have that pretty well in hand and we expect no company this month, unlike July which was non stop! Now, if I could just get the weather to cooperate and cool down so I could bike and power walk more often. Ha.

Ah, skywalker... hills... my bane. argh. But our tour will include what's described as "rolling hills"... so, despite our heat, I'll have to force myself to train by going up every overpass I can find. No shortcuts!.

Stu, I am a little afraid of clip pedals... can you get out of them quickly if necessary?

I currently use metal pedals with teeth, which don't slip, but I know I'm losing some pedaling power by not being clipped in.

snip........

Stu, I am a little afraid of clip pedals... can you get out of them quickly if necessary?

I currently use metal pedals with teeth, which don't slip, but I know I'm losing some pedaling power by not being clipped in.

Well the nice thing about the ones I bought is that they are half clips half regular platform pedals, the MTB shoes I were looks much like regular hiking shoes, the cleat on the bottom is recessed so you can walk in them fairly normally. I remember back when with roadie shoes and clip pedals, you could walk VERY carefully about 10 feet with those things one, they were hard plastic on the bottom and very slippy.

The other feature I like about the Shimano pedals I got is that there is an allen screw on each one that you can adjust the release pressure, this is very confidence inspiring if you are just starting out, all you have to do is twist your heel outwards and the shoe is free of the pedal. For around town etc, I like it set this way, easy fast egress :bigsmile: You do have to remember to flick your heels out, I almost, ALMOST did a crash today, I forgot to flick my heel out until the last second, I did get my foot down.......just :blushing: I also had to raise my seat again to get the position to spin I wanted, this allows me to run a higher gear and just simply go faster and easier, much less wasted motion. Better work out for the legs too, you are using more muscles so you are building more muscles too :drinker:

I would run the release pressure higher if I was going off-road, as things move around a lot more and you DON'T want an accidental release, that just sucks.:frown:

Really, the new modern clip pedals are really a treat to use, the ones I have are great for anyone, but especially for a newbie to clip pedals, as you can just simply NOT use them when you are in an environment that does not inspire confidence. For example, around the town center, buses, taxis, kids, dogs, kids with dogs, elderly hard of hearing peds and cagers, you might feel a LOT better NOT using the clips, makes sense, but out on a nice set of rolling hills, riding in the comfort of your group, the clip pedals are great (just remember to flick the heel out when you come to a stop!!).

You will be surprised at how much better you go up hills with clip pedals and shoes!

Any other clip pedals users out there?

Please chime in!

@BarbieCat: Get the clip pedals and shoes. There are tons of them out there, but I've stuck with the simple (and fairly inexpensive) cleat model. Nike makes some nice shoes, too. At first, it seems weird, but it becomes second nature very quickly to clip in and out. Most people will fall down once learning to use them. I had my fall in front of a group of boy scouts who were in the middle of a bicycle safety lecture.:laugh: No kidding.

And what in the world is a "helmet friendly" hairstyle?? :huh: I have big hair (though I cut it a bit shorter for summer), and would love to know.

Another nice ride this morning, a little over 21 miles, but upped the pace a little bit, and that was good. Happy riding!

Hey all! Getting kinda confused on which bike I should aim for... I am a beginner, looking for something reasonably priced and reliable. Right now I am on the Trek site looking at the 1.2 WSD... can a seasoned pro look at it and tell me if it would be a good start for a beginner? What should I be looking for? Thanks... StuAblett, if you have any info, shoot me a message- same to everyone else! Thanks! Oh, I should add, I am looking for a road bike. I really like the Trek ones or Cannondales so far from what I have seen.

How did you lose your banana, was it strapped to the bike?

One reason I love bananas on longer rides is that they fit nicely in the back pocket of a jersey, they are easy to eat, they have lots of good things in them that help with muscle strain, and you can toss the wrapper by the side of the road (in the countryside) as it is biodegradable :bigsmile:

The magical returning banana, cool :drinker:

I've set the image in my ticker to show the elevation profile map of the Endure for the Cure ride I'm doing on Sunday. Holy hill climbing, Batman!!! :noway:
At least the last 25 miles should be ok. :laugh:

WOWZER! :noway: :embarassed:

How did you lose your banana, was it strapped to the bike?

being a banana is squishy I didn't strap it down too well and it bounced off. hehe. I was using a bungie cord lol. I guess I need a little wicker basket. lol

Woohoo! My helmet and bike computer are here! So excited! Changing my profile pic right now! LOL! Gotta be one of the cool people with the helmet pics! :bigsmile: