On Sat, 29 May 2004 12:26:08 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
wrote:
Well, Thursday I had cleats put in my shoes and I switched over to clipless
pedals.

Congrats.

I spent an hour or more on the trainer at the LBS getting used to locking
in/out. The hot lady who works there adjusted the tension so that they were
pretty easy to lock in/out -- which seemd to be what I needed at the time.

We all need hot ladies bending over our feet making adjustments to
our equipment.

Everything was great for the next 16 miles or so, in fact, it seemed like my
speed was up, though I was pushing it a bit since I had birthday cake last
night and wanted to burn it off....at mile 20...I was coming to a stop to

Mmmm...cake. I had birthday cake last night too. I'll have more
tonight, dammit!

to stop....Bamn! Fell to the right. Turns out, my right foot had locked
back in and I didn't even know it! That was really embarrassing as I was

This demonstrates, at least, how easy it is to get in... :/

talking to him and we both knew the moment I was going down. It all happens
in slow motion it seems, even though once you start to go you can't do much

You learn to have a scared panic reaction. You freak out and yank
your whole foot some random way which ends up releasing from the
pedal.

about it. Glad I had my helmet on as my head hit the pavement. Talk about
the inverted pendulum problem.

I hope that doesn't start a helmet war...

Anywho...at about 25 miles out along the route, I hear this noise....had
popped a spoke on the rear wheel. Dang -- I just had popped a spoke on
tuesday on that same wheel and had to have it trued. Well, there I was with

Your wheels were not properly tensioned and/or not stress relieved.
Helpful hot chick or not, your LBS is insufficient.

the wheel out of true again. I could do nothing to get the spoke back in.
Some out-of-town cyclist came by to offer a hand...he was training for an
Ironman event in Florida (we're in SC)...there was nothing he could do so he
wished my a good walk home...I was looking at about 11 miles....not too bad

I released the rear brake and tried to ride with the wheel out of true...it
all seemed to be working, so I made a U-turn in the middle of the road to
head for the meet point. But, alas, the rear wheel hung and --- what do you

How did the rear wheel hang? Was it so terrible untrue that it
couldn't rub past the released brake on one side?

know --- bamn! I was on the friggin pavement again! This time I felt a bit
defeated.

I would too.

I hurried to the LBS where the hot lady (who sold me my bike) managed to
rush my bike back so I can get it back by 3pm (hopefully, that was nice of
her to try, huh?). I discovered that my left palm is all swollen, too. Must
be from one of those falls....

Comments on how to avoid any more spills and what to do with a popped spoke
and an untrued wheel on a ride would be much appreciated. Somehow, I feel a
bit unsure if myself now....damn!

You don't have a spoke wrench, a multi-tool, or pliers? A broken
spoke can be removed, wrapped around the next spoke, zip-tied to the
next spoke, or whatever else it takes. An untrue wheel can be made
to ride sufficiently well for getting home with the brakes released;
just go at it with a spoke wrench (or the multi-tool's spoke wrench,
or the pliers) until it only rubs half-terribly on the released
brake.

For spills, make sure your cleats were installed correctly. They
could be installed backwards, or maybe wrong-sided. What kind of
pedals do you have? Finally, practice on the lawn, with your dog or
kids or parents running randomly in front of you from behind trees
to surprise you.

Also, disengage _before_ the [red light|turn|stop|whatever], even if
you're not sure it [the light] will be red. Nobody says you have to
stay engaged until the last possible second. You can ride disengaged
until you're sure you won't need a foot on the ground.
--
Rick Onanian