The Bike Shoes Saga

And seriously, it is a saga. I've needed cycle shoes for a while, and with training for the 70.3 Racine Ironman beginning next week, I need to get it together.

You see, MacKenna generously gave me a gift card to a cycling store for Christmas. So off to the store I went, bike in tow. The very friendly sales rep at Pearl Izumi helped me get fitted and found me a great deal on a set of shoes that would work with my pedals. The shoes were $50, but they didn't have the cleats I needed. My pedals are Shimano SPD-R, which the company doesn't make anymore. It provides a wider base and more power.

I went to a bike shop, who told me the cleats would be $38, plus another $10 to install. Or, I could just get a new pedal and cleat set for $60.

And off to the Internet I went. I found the cleats I needed easily, thanks to the sales rep at Pearl Izumi looking it up for me before I left the store. I ordered the cleats on eBay for $10 and they arrived shortly. It's apparently a self-aligning model (I wish I knew what that meant).

Problem is, I had no idea what to do with the damn things. I am not handy, so again, off to the Internet I went. Thankfully, I found a diagram that clearly detailed how to install the Shimano SH-91 cleat. It still took me 30 minutes, but oh well.

I set my bike up on the trainer that Jenny let me borrow for the moment of truth: Did they work?  I was so excited when I heard a "click" and realized my toes were now firmly attached to my bike.

Until I had to get off the bike.  I'm going to need some practice with un-clipping my shoes before I hit the open road.

Thanks, Internet, for saving me some cash!

How long did it take you before you felt comfortable with clipless pedals and shoes?