New Cleats & Aero-bars!

I slept at 4am this morning. I was on a roll last night, designing Dawn's farewell scrapbook thingy. But today's Saturday, and my much awaited rest day, so I can sleep in. Went to F for my usual massage. I thought I had a decent week of workouts and not feeling like I'd lost my legs. Alas, once he started pressing, I was a goner.

Met Alvin for lunch and we proceeded to Millen's to install my Look pedals and a set of aerobars on my bicycle. I finally mustered enough wild courage to fix everything after much prodding and cajoling from Alvin. I succumbed to the 'if not now on the flat Msian race course, then when?' argument. The other taunt of 'you're so athletic, how can you be so clumsy at this?' also worked on me. :)

My main worry is not being able to clip in/out quickly at road junctions and getting into accidents. I mounted myself on the bicycle and tested the new gear on Millen's stationary trainer. I practised clipping and unclipping in many times before feeling comfortable enough to go on the roads.

We drove to Lim Chu Kang cemetery stretch to practise loops. Right shoe clicked. 'Ok, here goes nothing', I told myself, and stepped down. Instinctively my left shoe found its way to the pedal and clicked in place just as practised! One challenge down, and I was moving forward. Now to figure out how to brake and stop safely. Remembering to position my left foot at the lowest point, I unclipped the shoe. But I was too tensed up to brake properly, and promptly scrapped the bottom of the shoe on the kerb. That wasn't correct. So I did the drill a few more times - mount, clip in, clip out, brake, stop, foot down. And I got it! It was heartening to know that I'm not as klutsy as I thought. Next trick to learn was balancing and controlling my bike with the aerobars. The first time I rested my elbows on the pads and held the bar (or attempted to), the bike swerved dangerously. I clutched the hoods in a reflex move. It took me a couple of angle adjustments and trial-and-error to learn how to ride with the aerobars.

I did 3 sets of the loop, approximately 20km. It was a nice experience using the cleats and aerobars. I feel more confident to use them on race day next week. :)