8:38 a.m. (+1 hour, 28 minutes)
I wheeled my bike down the black “Ironman” carpet towards the end of the bike transition section.
(You didn’t jump right on your bike?)
That’s a “no-no.” Everyone had to walk their bike out of the transition to the start line to “mount” their bikes.
I pushed my bike, at a brisk pace, to the exit…but there was a bottleneck at the exit.
I wanted to yell, “Everyone move to one side!”
(So, why didn’t you?)
I credit my mom for teaching me to think before I speak. Every triathlete in front of me was in as much of a hurry as I was to get out on the bike course. Yelling at them would not make things move faster. It might make it worse. We were only standing there for 2 maybe 3 seconds, but once the bottleneck started to move, I saw it. There was a man, laying on the ground…and he wasn’t moving. A year and a half after this race, I can still see him, arms and legs extended, like the chalk line from a 1940s murder mystery. He was blocking the narrow path between the metal barricades that funneled us onto the Riviera. There was no bike and no one was rushing to help him. So many questions, but the clock was running. I’m not an EMT, there was nothing I could do to help him and there were emergency personnel nearby.
8:43 a.m. (+1 hour, 33 minutes)
I pushed my bike up to the “Start line” and mounted my bike. I clipped my right bike shoe into the pedal and pushed off. As my right foot rotated from top to bottom of the crank arm of the bottom bracket…
(The what???)
Just think big hand on a clock.
My left shoe snapped into the other pedal like the docking mechanism on an Apollo space craft.
(Hey Gen X, got a reference that Gen Alpha and Gen Z can relate to?)
My left shoe snapped into the other pedal like a protective plastic case around my cell phone.
Better?
(Much)
The plastic on the bottom of the shoe was pulled into the rhombus shaped metal piece that is bike pedal by springs in the pedal. The pedals are called “Look” style pedals.
(Why are they called “clipless”?)
So, what do you call pedals that do away with the need for a metal toe-clip dangling off the front of your pedal? “Clipless.” The first clipless pedals were made by a ski-binding maker called “Look.” Given the popularity of toe-clips at the time, Look needed some way to differentiate their product from the cage at the end of the pedal that everyone else was using. So, the term “clipless” was born.
You don’t clip into clipless pedals; you click into them.
(Why clip in? We all had those platform pedals as a kid)
Clipless pedals can make a significant difference in biking for several reasons:
- Efficiency
Clipless pedals allow you to pull up on the pedals as well as push down, which can enhance your power output. This results in better energy transfer from your legs to the bike, making pedaling more efficient. This is why people buy “shoes” for a spin class.
With traditional flat pedals, your foot can slip or move around, leading to wasted energy. Clipless pedals keep your foot securely in place.
- Control and Stability
When your feet are clipped in, you have more control over the bike, especially during climbs, descents, and sharp turns. Think of a cowboy on a horse. He steers his animal with his legs as much as his hands. The Mongols did this when they would shoot arrows while riding their horses. This can lead to greater confidence and stability on the bike.
- Injury Prevention
It is difficult to become injured from riding your bike because if you are properly fitted, then your muscles are tracked. The ability to engage different muscle groups through the pedal stroke can reduce fatigue over long rides.
As I pedaled away from the transition area I started my bike computer.
(Didn’t you have your Garmin sports watch tracking you?)
Yes, but you do not want to be looking at your wrist for data while you are riding any more than you want to be texting while you are driving.
My original plan had me out of the water and on my bike in 90 minutes. I was three minutes behind schedule.
(That’s not bad)
No, it wasn’t. “Bad” awaited me five miles down the road.
David Roher is a USAT certified triathlon and marathon coach. He is a multi-Ironman finisher and veteran special education teacher. He is on Instagram @David Roher140.6.
He can be reached at [email protected].
