Futzing with toe clips

My, isn't that the most compelling headline you've read on a blog post? Had the blogosphere existed in July 1969, and you had the option of reading "Man On The Moon!" or "Futzing With Toe Clips," I'm sure the toe clip post would be pulling the traffic. (I don't even have to use my sarcastic typeface.)

Nonetheless, the toe-clip issue is a significant one for cyclists looking for a more efficient ride. There is a topless picture of an alt-rock star here. Click back there, or continue reading.

Since you've decided to follow the toe-clip stream, here's the thing. You want to be pedaling in circles, not up and down; as your leg comes up, it should be pulling the crankset, not just along for the ride. The best solution is cycling shoes with cleats and pedals designed to fit them.Two problems. A) It's a laughably expensive proposition. (I managed to pick up a pair of Adidas, sans cleats, for $30 at the bike show, but your mileage will definitely vary. Cleats are another $30. Pedals, well, that could get truly ugly.) And 2) Unless you're running an Olympic distance or longer triathlon, you're probably not going to want to change shoes.

(Gatorade has a great video of the swim-to-bike transition showing how to put on bike shoes on the fly.)

Your other option is toe clips. I bought a pair of toe clips when I took up cycling again a couple years ago, but before I read how the Cyclists In The Know dismissed them outright as potentially lethal in traffic. I hid them in my tool box so the cool kids wouldn't know I had them.

But as I was researching triathlon training, it came up again and again: If you're going to do one thing to tweak your bike for a triathlon, put toe clips on the pedals.So I dug out the toe clips and installed them on my pedals, a process that takes the most anal-retentive perfectionist about 30 seconds a side.

After several rides with them I can confirm that, yes, it makes for a much more efficient ride, and, yes, they're potentially lethal in traffic.

The problem is that, gravity being a harsh mistress, the clips rotate down and expose the unclipped side of the pedal when you take a foot out, which you have to do every time you stop in traffic. (I find myself slowing hilariously when I approach a red light, hoping it'll go green before I have to put a foot down. Works maybe half the time.)

So, a couple tips. My clips are, entirely by happenstance, flexible plastic, so they can take the occasional scrape across the pavement when I accidentally hit the first couple of strokes with the pedal upside down. More importantly, I've been working on a no-look pedal flip. My right foot is on the pavement at a stop, my left in the stirrup. The right pedal is upside down, clip facing the ground. With my right pedal at 12 o'clock, I step on the back of the pedal and paw it  backward, popping my foot into the clip when it spins around. DO NOT WATCH YOUR FOOT. You're in traffic.

I get it right about eight times out of 10 now. I'm still practicing. One thing I have noticed is that the more I focus on it, the more likely I am to screw it up.

See? Aren't you glad you read on instead of looking at what's 'er names breasts?