Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Lance Armstrong, I am not.

A few weeks ago I posted about my new set of wheels. Well, guess what? I picked it up on Monday, and it’s totally pimp!

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See, I told you it was pimp! When I ordered the bike I was so excited, I was pretty sure I might even be the next Lance Armstrong. Yeah, I know he’s a dude, but whatever. I’m just sayin. Well, that night Shawn says to me “You know you’re going to have to learn to ride with the clips, right?” I scoffed at that saying “Yeah, whatever. I know how to ride in clips, the spin bikes have clips! Duh!” And then it dawned on me. The spin bikes are stationary. This bike will be moving, like on the road, with cars. Shit.

I considered cancelling the bike, but Shawn basically told me N-O, plus he thought it was too late to cancel anyway. Not to mention the manager at the bike shop goes to my spin class, and the girl who did my bike fitting teaches the Monday class. If I told them why I was cancelling they would think I was a total spaz. Which is probably true anyway.

So, for the last 3 weeks I’ve been freaking out. The bike was ready for a few days before I even picked it up. I told Shawn I felt a lot better about the bike when it was at the bike shop. You know, because if I brought it home, he might expect me to ride it. In the meantime, a Facebook friend of mine got a road bike too, and she told me she fell off the bike right in her driveway! When I told her how scared I was of this happening to me she said “It’s not a matter of if (you fall), it’s a matter of when.” This just confirmed my impending death.

Before I go any further, I’m worried that a few of you are thinking “Clips? What the hell are clips?” So, just in case, here’s a brief explanation. This is the bottom of my shoe:

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And this is the “pedal” on my bike, if you even want to call it a pedal:

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So, I have to “clip” my shoe into the pedal to ride the bike. Then, when I need to stop I have to clip out. Does any of this make sense? Oh, and aren’t the pink pedals bad ass?

Back to Monday. I finally picked the bike up, and when I got home I brought it in the house to practice clipping in and out. I was nervous, but at the same time, I also thought I was probably making a big deal out of nothing. Right? Wrong.

I got on the bike in the living room, and the first foot clipped in easily, because obviously I was just standing still. Shawn was standing next to me and was like “Do you want me to hold the bike?” I was all “No, no, no! I have to do it myself!” So, I go to clip the second foot in, and I’m on the bike for all of maybe 1 second, and then BOOM! I’m on the floor. Awesome. It turns out once both feet are clipped in, you need to pedal. Who knew?

34 comments:

d.a.r. said...

I am going to have nightmares for you tonight. That is so scary!!!!


Good luck :)

Jessica said...

Wait, I'm so confused!

So, while you're riding, if you want to slow down to a stop, how do you unclip to hold yourself up?

Don't die! I need interesting blogging material to read and you're one of my very few sources. Oh, and you have a family, but that's a side note!

Jane said...

Can you have Shawn follow you the first time out with the camera? We'd like wipe-out pictures please.

Amy Lynn said...

Oh no! Good luck! That sounds like it requires coordination - let me know how that works out for you... I don't have much of it, and I'll be really jealous if you do :)I'm sure you'll do fine but... Make sure you ditch the visor for a helmet. ;-) Just in case!

Hillary said...

Did I not warn you about this with the whole hippie boyfriend story?!?! If my memory serves me correctly, you made fun of him for standing still, not pedaling, clipped in..I'm just sayin'. Now, just imagine doing that in downtown Chicago..yikes.

The pink pedals are totally bad ass!

Sara McCarty said...

Oh! I'm terrified of bikes. Hate hate hate them. This post makes me cringe. Good luck...better you than me! :)

Natalie said...

I totally learned something new today. I had no idea. What's wrong with using normal peddles? Imean, it works for the kids in the neighborhood right?
How are you going to unclip yourself while on the bike, not moving & on a street?

Melissa said...

Oh my heavens. I would be doomed. I know that I could not do that!

Where do you get the special shoes?

And that sure is one pimped out bike and the pedals are super spiffy... too bad I couldn't ride it.

Good luck! Hopefully with practice you will succeed. I'm sure you will.

Taylor-Made Wife said...

loooove the wheels!! And yes, I love the pink pedals. I wish we lived closer together so we could go through this sort of thing together. My advice is to start out pedaling with one clipped in and the other foot's heel on the pedal to keep you steady. Clip in the second one once you get moving.

Claire said...

Hmmmmm, love the pink pedals, but would love lime green even better - anyway...ummmm, maybe some training wheels to start off would help?! My bro rides too, and he's still alive (and totally not athletic, so if he can it so can you!!) Good luck with the new bike, you're right, it is sweet!

Unknown said...

I would badly injure myself, without a doubt! You are a brave, brave woman! I definitely would have had to go with a bike with normal pedals.

TILTE said...

this is the kind of stuff my nightmares are made of...

jv726 said...

Good luck outside where you don't have carpet to fall on...Yikes! :)

Christa said...

Love your new ride! Good luck!!

Liz Mays said...

I'm sorry, but the visual of you clipping in and instantly hitting the floor is hilarious! I hope you weren't hurt. Ok, you weren't? Well, then bwahahahahaha

Kelsey Claire said...

That is stinkin' hilarious! I can just visualize you in your living room falling over! At least it was in your living room where no one could see you!

Unknown said...

Even busting it in the living room, you are a whole lot closer to Lance than me.

Anonymous said...

Oh no! That's gotta hurt. You are way more daring than I am. Clips scare me half to death! Good luck!

Amanda M. said...

Holy crap. That looks more difficult than parenting.
I have never seen the clips and I can confirm that I know for a fact I'd be dead if I tried to use them. ;)

Anonymous said...

What if you have to stop...let us know how that works. I always imagined myself as a biker and have had visions of being the next Lance Armstrong (who cares if he is a dude) but those shoes and clips totally freak me out! Be careful out there.

Chrissi said...

This is too funny! I first encountered clips in a spin class...biking is a whole new world! I do love your pink clips :)

Tyly said...

Bahahaha! I love the idea of Shawn following you with a camera during your first ride!

In all seriousness, be careful! I'm glad you showed a picture of the clip nonsense, because I had no idea what you were talking about. Good for you for giving something new a try - you may love it!!

Unknown said...

You're so brave!

mama's smitten said...

One step at a time ! Good luck, you can do it! That is one fancy pants bike! what does your helmet look like?!

Lindsey said...

No way! I had no idea there were such things as clips and that you have to have "clip shoes"!! That's hard core! You'll get the hang of it, in fact you probably already have.

AussieMumma said...

thats freaking hard. I'll take a spin class over this clipping in & out business any day! Good luck tho :)

Meghan said...

Ha, I was wondering what clips were, but then you explained, so thank you. I would also freak out if I had to ride a bike with clips - the best way to stop is just to put your foot on the ground, so to have to go through that extra step makes me nervous! Good luck! Let us know how the first ride goes!

Anonymous said...

That would be scary!!! You are locked-in? Thank you for the explanation because I didn't know what a clip was!!!

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

I was going to say, it's not too bad..clip one and once you get going fast enough, clip the other....I think that one part is quite crucial.

I hope you don't have any bruises!

Lindsey said...

Congrats on the new wheels! You will get the hang of it and become addicted! Garth and I bike twice a week in the summer, we love it!

Cara Smith said...

You will get the hang of it. Not because my uncoordinated self can (seriously I can hurt myself doing anything) but I see people all over my city stopping at traffic lights and have never seen anyone fall.

Corrie and Phil said...

Looks like a lot of work to me. Yikes!

What ever happened to good old banana seat bikes?

Heather said...

How ironic that you bring this up! I'm getting my shoes for my bike this weekend, and like you... I'm FREAKED out about falling and struggling with the clips. Let me know how it goes.

LOVE your bike!

Tracie said...

Dude, I can't even ride a bike. Yes, you read that correctly. I'm in awe of your clips. I would require training wheels. And a large life insurance policey.