I explained in my earlier post titled "Rewarding success with food" that instead of rewarding my weight-loss success with food like I always did before, nowadays I reward myself by sometimes buying something that I can use to continue my journey...
My reward these days could be a new cookbook full of healthy recipes, something for the kitchen (like a new blender for my smoothies), or new workout clothes because my present clothes are getting too baggy. My success itself has been reward enough, but sometimes I splurge - within reason.
Yesterday
I rewarded myself with something I never in a million years thought I'd ever
own: cycling shoes! These are my beauties:
The
first time my trainer Flaminia ("Fla") had me attend (or was it dragged me to?) one of her spin classes, I was
already nervous because I had no idea what spinning was all about other than
it's on a stationary bike. While I waited for her to arrive so she could set up my bike for me, when I saw her walk in with special shoes in her hand, I panicked. I asked her, "I need special shoes???" Fla calmly
said, "No, no, you're fine." I
had no idea why you would need special shoes to ride a bike, all you do is
pedal and these bikes came with a cage (a strap for your shoes) to keep your
foot in place so wouldn't any shoe other than flip flops be okay?
As I attended more spin classes with time (who would've guessed it!), my
regular athletic walking shoes worked fine except sometimes my toes would go
numb and once my entire foot went numb.
One of the instructors (after Fla quit working at Total Woman ("TW") but I continued taking spin classes) told me
to tighten the cage, and although it
helped, I'd still get numbness now and then plus it became a pain to get my
shoe in and out of the cage when the strap was tighter.
Now that I'm actually enjoying it (again, who would've thunk it!), I decided to reward
myself by investing in a good pair of cycling shoes so I could get better. When I went in search for them, I couldn't
find them at regular sporting goods stores like Big 5, Sports Chalet, or Sports
Authority. I just assumed they would
carry them, but they didn't - at least the stores I went to. Someone
suggested going to a cycle shop, which hadn't occurred to me, and that's what I
did. I was driving around from one
sporting goods store to another, then I Googled "bicycle shops" on my cell (LOVE the internet and Smart phones!) and
went to the one nearest me.
I felt
awkward and out of place in the store because the other customers were all men
and they were buff, fit, and young. You
could tell these guys were heavy-duty cyclists and they knew the equipment and
what to look for. And then there's me:
old, overweight, unsure, having no clue what to ask for, and without my Fla to hold my hand and guide me. In fact, I walked in asking for
"spinning shoes" which later I found out there's no such thing. Instead, they make cycling shoes that people
use for spinning. Who knew!
I
lucked out because the salesman who helped me (Ulysses at H&S Bicycles in
Burbank, California) was wonderful to me.
He took me upstairs where the shoes are and explained everything about
cycling shoes and cleats. I had researched cycling shoes online a few days before and I knew about cleats, but he taught me so much more. He was patient
and answered all my questions and made suggestions, too. He made the whole experience enjoyable. When I'm treated well at a store in such
situations when I have no clue what I should be buying, I have no problems
spending my money. By the same token,
when I'm treated badly and my questions are not being answered to my
satisfaction because either the salesperson is rude or incompetent, I walk out
and make a mental note to never return to that store. In any case, my experience at H&S
Bicycles was great. If I ever decide to buy a regular bicycle (which I've been thinking about), I'll return to that store.
So
this is what I've learned so far (there's tons I still don't know) about
cycling shoes in case you're wondering, too:
they're narrower than other
athletic shoes and sizes are different.
I told the salesman that I wore a 9 or 10 (remember, I'm tall so I need big feet), depending on the cut of the shoe,
and he handed me cycling shoes in a size 45 (probably European sizing) which fit perfectly. I was
concerned that they wouldn't fit me because I wear wide shoes normally and
these cycling shoes looked really narrow, but when I slipped my feet in them,
the shoes fit perfectly and I still had a little wiggle room inside.
The cycling shoes I got have three straps on the top (no laces). Two of the straps are held with Velcro and the
top strap nearest my ankle has a plastic piece that allows me to keep
tightening that strap as much as I want and it keeps the strap in place. To release that top strap, there's a plastic
button I push. Online, this feature is described as: "Dual offset hook-and-loop straps and
single micro-adjust buckles to deliver a snug, pressure-free fit."
With
cycling shoes, the sole is hard and won't flex like a regular shoe. They're not really made to walk around in
them although you can, depending on whether the cleat is recessed or not. One
pair I tried on had such a slippery sole that I figured the second I got off
the bike and stepped onto the hardwood floor at the gym, I'd end up on the
floor on my behind. I'm already quite a
klutz (it doesn't take much for me to fall), I certainly don't need any help in
that department. When I first stood up wearing these slippery
shoes, I envisioned Fla laughing at me as I fell over! The pair I got has a rubber sole so that
won't happen. Fla will have to find
other ways to laugh at me (she often does!).
Then
there's the cleat, a metal hook-type gizmo under the shoe that will attach to the bike
pedal. As you can see from the photo above, my shoe's cleat is located at the ball of my foot. There are different types of
cleats, some shoes are designed with two holes, three holes, or even four holes
on the soles. The number of holes on the
shoe determines which cleats you can use with those shoes. For example, shoes with two holes cannot be
converted to use a three-hole cleat. I
chose the two-hole cleat called the SPD system (short for Shimano Pedaling
Dynamics) because it can be used for all types of riding, not just for spin
class. Also, my particular shoe has a
recessed design for the cleat so walking in them is comfortable. With some shoes the cleat sticks out so
walking in them is noisy (you hear the metal cleat clicking on the floor with
every step) and walking around in these types of shoes takes some getting used to.
The
advantage to wearing cycling shoes versus other athletic shoes is that with the
stiffer sole, it provides more efficient energy transfer as you pedal. The cleat keeps your foot in place while
pedaling and allows you to get on and off the bike much easier and faster than
having to shove your big athletic shoe into the cage. There were times during class when I dropped my towel or my bottle of water and it was a pain getting my shoe out of the cage to pick up whatever I dropped and then it was a pain to get my foot back in.
The
salesman explained that there are two types of cleats: one with zero give
and the other one with a little wiggle room. The one with zero give is
important for street riding because if you're about to fall, the slightest movement
on your foot releases the cleat immediately, which is a good thing because then
you can use your foot to stop you from falling or, if you do fall, your foot
isn't stuck to the pedal with the bike on top of you. Because it has
zero give, it teaches you to keep your foot in a specific way when you
pedal. The cleat with wiggle room allows you to move your foot a
bit more before it releases the cleat from the pedal. To
release the cleat, you move your heel and ankle away from the bike slightly and it'll release easily off the pedal.
The
salesman suggested I get the cleat with zero give but I told him I'm still
learning and I know when I stand up, my foot moves and I don't want the cleat
coming off just as I'm putting all my weight on the pedal (I can visualize the pedal
scraping my leg as I slip off onto the floor. When you're a klutz like me, you always think ahead.). Since the bike in spin
class doesn't move and it won't tip over, I don't have to worry about falling
with my shoe stuck to the pedal. I can always change the cleat to the other
type later.
Today
I went to TW with my new cycling shoes when there were no classes
scheduled so I could go into the room by myself and try out getting on and off
the bike with my new shoes. I envisioned
falling off the bike, getting my shoe stuck to the bike and not being able to
get it out, and all sorts of faux pas situations that I didn't want an audience
witnessing. I always like to make a fool
of myself in private so I try to anticipate when this might happen so I can avert
having witnesses. It doesn't always work though.
When
I was in the room by myself, I changed into my new cycling shoes and then in a
second, I clicked them into the pedals perfectly, and in another second I was
off the bike. It took three people to
advice me how to do it though: Fla emailed
me earlier that I needed to sit on the bike first and then clip my shoes to the
pedals. I'm glad she told me because I
always put my shoe in the cage first so I can boost myself up onto the saddle (the seat) and I planned to do the same with my new shoes. I can see why this might be dangerous because
when I boost myself up, my foot turns a little and my cleat could easily come
off the pedal which would be painful.
Once I sat on the saddle, I pointed my toes down the way the salesman
had explained to do, and then I hooked the cleat to the pedal and it snapped in
place like both he and Fla said it would. To get off
the bike, a friend of mine had emailed me explaining that I would need to turn
my ankle away from the bike just slightly to release the cleat. So thanks to these three people's advice, it
was no trouble at all using my new cycling shoes. All faux pas were averted! Whew!
The
only "problem" I encountered which I suspected I would, and this
isn't even really a problem, was trying to figure out where the cleat was
(since it's under the shoe and you can't see it) in relationship to the clip on
the pedal. It took a little bit of moving my foot up and down on the pedal until I felt the cleat hook into the pedal and then I put my foot down until it clicked in place. It's something that will be
easier as I start using the shoes more frequently. In any case, for being my very first time, it
was a breeze.
While
clicked into the pedals, I tried pedaling and standing up and it did feel much
better than with my regular shoes. I
felt like I had more control on the pedals.
The true test, of course, will be on my next spin class!
At TW, the pedals already attached to the bikes have the clip for cycling shoes on one side and the cage on the other. If you're using cycling shoes, the cage will be facing the floor. At the hoity-toity gym Fla takes me to sometimes, she always had to attach pedals for me so I could use my regular shoes. The bikes are different at that gym so I'm hoping I won't have problems clicking my new shoes into those pedals because then I'll definitely have an audience, including Fla standing in front of me. She never lets me sit in the back and always puts me on the front row during her classes. I'm telling you, that woman doesn't let me get away with anything because you know if I was in the back I would probably take it easy!
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