March has been pretty cold so far…but things are looking up. I am writing this from Terminal 3 at O’Hare International at my new favorite eatery in this otherwise God-forsaken municipal bus station/airport.

I’ve had two excellent rides so far this month on Monday and Tuesday. Monday was around 30 degrees but sunny and well worth tolerating the bitter cold. Tuesday warmed up a bit and was maybe 35 or so. I had a (not so) hidden agenda on Monday where after weeks of waiting, eBay watching, and cajoling I had decided that the time was right to move to clipless pedals. I had a sweet eBay score a few weeks ago where I picked up a nice pair of Specialized shoes on the dirt cheap (12.50 American dollars, brand new with tags). I have ached recently for new routes out of New Albany and so I used parts of the RCCS Brew2 ride to stitch together pieces into something new. It conveniently met up half way at Clarksville Schwinn where I loaded my back pocket with a set of Crank Brothers Candy C pedals. I choose these for the relatively wide platform that allows pedaling clipped in or not. The reviews indicated that they are also reasonably easy to get in and out of. I made the stop and picked them up, then proceeded to weave my way through the older part of Clarksville (which my work friend tells me they call “the OC (Original Clarksville)) and back into New Albany using my newly bold method of charging into N’Albany via Spring Street/IN-62. It was cold but I dressed the part with a wool shirt, wool, pants and wool socks…needless to say I stayed warm.

Tuesday was not looking good for a ride – a work meeting than ran two hours and the requisite catch up that followed threatened to squash the needed window for bike riding. A furious round of catch-up ensued. At 1 o’clock I said “screw it” and went anyway for a theoretically shortened ride to compensate for the lateness in the day. This was to be the big clipless pedal tryout after all. I headed west towards Silver Hills because it gives me the most options for length and terrain. I studied the booklet that came with the pedals and had an idea of what was need to seat the cleats into the pedals. I omitted the advice section where they intone that you should mount the bike to a trainer and practice for a bit prior to putting your self in traffic. The claims proved to be true in that the first couple of clip-ins were accomplished by what could be described as “mashing” the shoe into the pedal. Soon enough I was pedaling away with a new feeling of connectivity. I have had issue with how my feet feel relating to cold and sometimes numbness that I thing relate to how the solid areas of toe clips are routing air at my feet and into my shoes. I did not experience these feelings on the new pedals. What was interesting is that I had sore thighs by the time I finished. This indicates to me an adaption of my pedaling stroke to accommodate and feel and new opportunity to apply power to the “back side” of the pedal that I was missing out on (perhaps). All of this and I think they admittedly look better than sloppy toe clips. With the sun shining and the brisk wind in my face my shortened ride turned into a pretty normal ride of around 15 miles. The verdict on the pedals is good. I like how they felt in the ride. My brain communicated properly and allowed me not to fall on my maiden ride although I understand it may be coming.

The weather is supposed to be quite good on Thursday and I will be there…can’t wait.