A Girl Has To Have Shoes!

To understand my excitement about today's ride you have to know the background story. I have only been riding for less then a year now and the first road bike I bought had nylon cages on the peddles. The advantage is you don't have to buy special shoes and I was trying to save a little money somewhere since the bike was, shall we say, not cheap.

The first ride on my new bike ended in me sprawled on the ground with a few bumps and bruises. I just couldn't cleanly kick my feet out of the cages. The second ride was better, but I still felt uncomfortable. The third ride resulted in a severely bruised hand, a deep bruise under my knee cap, and a near concussion. At my age I don't heal fast and I was aching and tender for months. My husband threatened to cut my bike in two if I fell again so the cages came off and I've been riding bare peddle ever since.

But as I watched other cyclists and talked to my riding friends I became more convinced that I needed to try a different shoe system. I didn't want to put my cages back on. Even though I'm a much better rider now I have this mental block against those contraptions. So off to the bike shop and a long strategy session with the owner. He explained the pros and cons of each system and we narrowed it down to the peddles and shoes I think I needed. I payed the money with my eyes closed and told myself it was a good investment.

Today was my first ride with my new shoes. They have a cool lacing system that involves turning a button and they felt different on my feet. They are very ridged but that is supposed to help with my foot pain problem on long rides. We'll see about that. I tested the system out a few times in the drive way, then stopped at every corner whether I needed to or not just to get used to twisting out of the peddles.

Amazing. That's the only word for how much more power I felt on the hills and the control I had staying on the peddles. I think I'm going to like these shoes even if they are actually for a man (he had them in stock and was willing to give me a discount). I won't tell if you don't! Over all I  had a good ride followed by a decent run. I'm tired but excited. I think I've taken the next step forward!