Biking for Dummies

Biking for Dummies. That’s the book I need right now for two obvious reasons:

1) This February, my goal is to learn how to bike with cleats, and
2) I’m the dumbest person I know when it comes to biking.

My brain has the capacity to memorize pace and time for marathons, but it struggles to absorb any word or number associated with bikes, except for “Contessa” and “Shimano”. If it is pressured to recall any more than that, it goes into emergency mode and my brother-the-cyclist’s cellphone number automatically pops out in blinking red lights, much like the fire exit sign in a burning building.

As I’ve said, the magic word for the coming month is: cleats. I never knew that this 6-letter word could cause so much stress in my life. Every single time it’s been mentioned, whether at the community bike shop, over coffee with Jun (The Solemates), or at a dinner party with Team Hammer, my palms get all sweaty and my legs lock up. I am so incredibly afraid of falling off the bike if or when I forget to uncleat. Worse, I am so worried that when I do fall, I will break a bone in my body which will render me unable to run for months. I will die if that happens.

I’m an optimist and I pray it doesn’t happen, but who am I kidding? I don’t know anyone who hasn’t fallen off a bike while learning to ride with cleats. I bet in the mysterious and secret world of biking, one can only enter the 10-foot tall, well-guarded gates by revealing gaping wounds from cleating accidents. It is, as all bikers say, a rite of passage.

I was so fearful of cleats that I tried my best to delay using them for as long as possible. Remember that I got my Contessa in October? I had the convenient excuse of not riding it since I was training for New York Marathon. Then I was lucky enough to use the busy holiday excuse for December. While I was thinking of a new excuse for January, good friends from GranTrail bike shop decided to put an end to the charade. A couple of weeks ago, they surprised me with Shimano bike shoes and cleats! Overhwhelmed with joy (and fear), I texted Hans of GranTrail to thank him profusely for the gift, then I wiped the sweat off my face as I thought: “Crap, now I don’t have a reason NOT to learn how to use cleats anymore.”

- Thanks Hans & Cherie Co of GranTrail Cycles! -

Now, back to how I dumb I am. In excitement, in the car, I opened the Shimano box to fit the shoes. I ripped out the velcro from the first two straps, then I spotted the buckle for the shoe. I pulled it, flipped it around, attempted to yank it off, pressed here, then there and I realized after a few minutes that I didn’t know how to open the shoe. Told you I’m the dumbest person when it comes to bikes.

Who did I call to answer the dumbest question ever? Not Hans, of course, that would be too embarrassing. I called on my dearest Kuya first. He said his shoe was just velcro, so he had no clue. Argh. Next I called on a good friend Jay (Prometheus Cometh) who, much to my bad luck, had simple one-strap velcro tri shoes; he had no clue either. I swallowed my pride and texted Hans. No reply. Gawd, he must’ve showed the text to everyone at the bike shop before answering me. Fortunately, I was fetching my son at his best friend’s house, and BFF’s dad, Jamike, is a triathlete and friend. So, after three pathetic pleas for help from several people, Jamike was successful at solving the world’s dumbest bike issue simply by pressing a button. Voila! The bike shoe unfastened and was ready for my fitting!

So, here I am now with the bike all set up, the bike shoes fitted with its cleats, and my heart palpitating every single time I think of practicing. Thankfully, it’s just January 28; I have four more days before February. Lord, help me.

Posted on 01.28.11 to 01 Bullish Insights. Tags: Bike, cleats, Gran Trail. Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 19 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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19 Responses to “Biking for Dummies”

I think you can do it, Jaymie My friend Joel avoided nasty spills while learning to bike with cleats by uncleating way before he planned to stop. I still need to save up a bit before buying shoes and cleats but I’m planning to wear kneepads and long cycling tights to avoid scrapes and (too much) bruising.

Noelle De Guzman said on Jan 28 11 at 9:00 PM Reply
- Hi Noelle, yes that’s a tip given by teammates and even bike mechanics. I have a feeling it’s easier said than done but I’ll try my best!
  
  Make sure you wear cheap tights. I tore my Nikes when I tripped before Good luck to us!
  
  thebullrunner said on Jan 28 11 at 10:32 PM Reply
  - I’m using Anatomic. The material is thicker than Nike tights but still breathable — and it costs less than 800 pesos! Plus it has seat padding for a more comfy ride.
    
    Noelle De Guzman said on Jan 29 11 at 10:26 AM
bullrunner, its not that bad..before you go out on the road, practice putting on the cleats and ‘un-cleating’ whilst on a stationary position. do that 20 or 30 times then you are good to go. make sure you are comfortable with the tension of the locking mechanism though, if not, this is adjustable. cycling with cleats is the best..

krap said on Jan 28 11 at 10:07 PM Reply
LOL Jaymie, I can relate. My shoes hasn’t gone outdoors since I got them. Practicing it on my bike with trainers. One of these days, I got to take her out and face my fears. hays. Good luck and be safe =)

Tin said on Jan 29 11 at 12:51 AM Reply
TBR, practice riding with only one foot clipped. Most riders do this especially when entering crowded streets or town propers. Bale nakapatong lang yung paa mo dun sa isang pedal. After a while youll get the hang of it. Jackdl

ps: 95% of all my crashes are cleat related. hmmmmm.

jackdl said on Jan 29 11 at 11:57 AM Reply
Use them while your bike is on the trainers, until it becomes second nature to cleat and uncleat.
On the roads, use rubber shoes until your one with your bike and you can toy with your rig.
Thinking about your bike balancing while cleat and uncleating will divide your attention.

Paolo Manuel said on Jan 29 11 at 10:04 PM Reply
- Thanks for this! Couldn’t have come at better time. I just got off the bike on the trainers. Was looking down at the pedals the entire time. I couldn’t quite imagine struggling with this while on the road.
  
  Nice seeing you yesterday!
  
  thebullrunner said on Jan 30 11 at 10:13 AM Reply
  - Good luck and see you on the roads soon, hopefully on two wheels!
    
    Paolo Manuel said on Jan 30 11 at 9:05 PM
My coach before had me uncleat at every corner during my first try on cleats, he shouted ” cleats” until I get used to it make sure sure your cleats doesn’t move or swing..

Ian said on Jan 30 11 at 2:35 PM Reply
Hello! I can totally relate. I still bike using my rubber shoes; I’m looking at riding with cleats soon. But it’s a scary thought. I’m almost sure I’ll fall off at the start (the reality)… And I can’t get injured anytime soon cause I still have to run the TBR Dream Marathon!

On another note, your blog seems to be evolving to contain multisport adventures have just started a multisport blog and it’s interesting to see more people getting into the sport and blogging about it.

Chrys said on Jan 31 11 at 7:02 PM Reply
good luck Jaymie! master the art of locking in and out in a trainer or leaning against a wall, clip in and out both feet at least 20 times both feet, then do it without looking down. You should be able to grab the pedal with the front of the cleat and lock down without looking before you hit the roads. Otherwise just use run shoes first. Have fun with Contessa!

Noy said on Feb 01 11 at 10:57 AM Reply
good luck jaymie! practice on the trainers and try not to look down at the pedals. it will become second nature. you can also try riding on a flat straight course, just cleat, un-cleat several times, stopping on intersections. i remember the first time i used cleats on a mtb. I rode well until i stopped and crashed in front of students at the UP library, forgot to un-cleat.

tj isla said on Feb 01 11 at 11:51 AM Reply
hahaha. Good luck Jaymie. You’re correct. Falling off your bike because you forgot to uncleat is inevitable. It happens to everyone. Walang lusot.

Actually, when you become more confident using your cleats, that’s when you become careless.

Let us know when you want to ride. We’ll ride you.

Jamike said on Feb 01 11 at 12:49 PM Reply
I’ll lend you my book Cyclist’s Training Bible! And let’s do easy rides in Dasma, Alabang, and other non-crowded places. We’ll help you get over that fear! Promise! But yeah- until this very day- I still get paranoid with my cleats. hehehe!

Bic said on Feb 02 11 at 10:42 AM Reply
- Yes please! Thanks bic!
  
  thebullrunner said on Feb 02 11 at 3:10 PM Reply
And your bikes shoes are beautiful!!!!!!

Bic said on Feb 02 11 at 10:43 AM Reply
Tip: Always have Betadine ready in your car. Do not use Hydrogen Peroxide.

AC said on Feb 03 11 at 4:40 PM Reply
hey.. also went clipless for my MTB last year.

First time I tried it semplang in our sala.

Hows your experience so far? Just uncleat before a full stop, and do lots of reps 100 each side, although there will only just be a side that you will most likely be comfortable with.

Nice shoes!!! Mines the black one for Mountain Biking

Mariano said on Mar 01 11 at 1:34 PM Reply