My seventh fall

I suffered my seventh fall this morning since I've gone clipless more than a month ago.

It happened at the uphill trail from the AFP Housing to Mt. Maarat. I was pedaling and balancing my bike between the ruts. Unfortunately, my front tire fell into a rut at the left side. I lost my balance and fell to the right. I was able to unclip my right foot; but, it was too late. I already hit the ground.

Luckily, I just suffered a mongo size scratch on my right elbow.

It's another lesson learned.

NB. My first sixth falls happened while I was at a stop position.

Better by 10 seconds

For my year-end ride, I went to San Mateo, Rizal and climbed Timberland twice.

And, I broke my best time by 10 seconds. My current best time is 21 minutes and 20 seconds. My second climb was clocked at 21 minutes and 40 seconds.

By the way, I'm already using clipless pedals on my Alpine Trail 29er.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL BIKERS!

No more fall

From Dela Paz, Pasig City, I pushed my clipless pedals up to Cabading, Antipolo.

Thence, I climbed Mt. Maarat, passed through the basic trail, and descended via Timberland Heights and The Wall.

And, I didn't suffer a single fall until I get home in Novaliches.

I fall thrice

It's time to test my clipless pedals in the metropolis, where there are tight situations such as traffic and pedestrians.

My route was Novaliches to San Mateo to Marikina to Novaliches. That's about 36 kilometers.

I suffered three silly falls. The first was at the intersection of Mindanao Ave. and Commonwealth Ave. I already crossed the Commonwealth Ave lane going to Novaliches proper but stopped at the center to allow the vehicles crossing the Mindanao Ave.

The second was the intersection of Delos Santos Ave. and Gen. Luna Ave. in San Mateo. The traffic at Delos Santos Ave. was red.

The third was along J. P. Rizal St. somewhere in Nangka Marikina. The jeep I was following stopped to load passengers.

These falls were identical. When I was about to make a full stop, I disengaged my left foot from the pedal then applied the brakes. With the right foot still clipped, I put some weight to the left then planted my left foot. But, somehow the weight shifted to the right and bang!

Luckily, I just sustained minor scratches and bruises. After the third fall, I now unclip both feet when stopping.

Finally, I go clipless

I was going clipless; but, at some points, I hesitated. With some prods from biking buddies, I finally decided to go on.

I bike commuted from office to home last Wednesday and passed by the local bike shop. I found a pair of clipless pedals and bought it. Its Shimano PD M540 (Malaysian made) with Reflector SM-PD22 attached. It costs P1,800 only.

I also bought a pair of shoes. The brand is X-ion from Germany. The cost is P2,500.

After paying the stuff, there's no turning back.

Yesterday, we went to Morong, Bataan to celebrate the Christmas there. I brought TweetyPot, where I installed the new clipless pedals. If there's opportunity, I'd try using the new pedals and practice cleating and uncleating. There was . . .

At the beach resort, I started the training.

First, at the parking area. I was doing fine. When I tried sudden braking, I disengaged my left foot. But, the bike leaned to the right and fell with me. Ouch! As a result, I got some scratches and my saddle got damaged.

I moved to the grassy playground of the resort.

Practice, practice, practice . . . Then, I tried uncleating the right foot and braked but the bike leaned to left and fell with me again. Same error. Fortunately, no damage done.

After building some confidence, I pedaled out of the resort - on the highway and fireroads.

At the highway, I was about to negotiate a U-turn, a motorcycle suddenly appeared close on my left. I panicked and braked. I was expecting a fall but fortunately my left foot disengaged and I stopped standing. Whew! That was close.

I pedaled back to the resort and practiced some more on the playground.

TweetyPot and the sunset

I'm not ready yet for the clipless pedals

Since I started biking last year, I've been using platform pedals. Reading from the biking fora and listening to the clipless bikers stories, I've thought of going clipless too. With prods from bike buddies, who are clipless users, I finally decided to go clipless.

According to About.Com:

Clipless pedals are bicycle pedals that have a special mechanism that attaches you foot to the pedal using a special cleat mounted to the bottom of your shoe. This type of pedal creates a very efficient connection between you and your bike.

Clipless pedals are about the most efficient way to attach your foot to the pedal. The rider steps into the mechanism and can then apply pedaling forces in the upward,downward, forward and rearward directions. To release from the pedal, the rider simply needs to twist their foot.

The term clipless is a bit confusing, since many would describe the mechanism in a clipless pedal as a clip. However, they are known as clipless because they are an alternative to the original toeclip pedals that use straps and a toe cage to hold your foot to the pedal.

Actually, I've started shopping already and found a pair of dual purpose pedals - the one side has platform and and the other side clipless. It's worth about P2,500. A pair of shoes is worth about P2,500 too.

But, with my two recent minor crashes - the first on the road and the second on the trail, I hesitated on pursuing my plan.

I think I've to rebuild my confidence again before converting my platform pedals into clipless.