Cleat Cluster F^&%

Oh boy.

That wasn't what I was expecting.

At the last minute I decided to load up my road bike into the car, take it over to Cranked Bike studio and get that rear tire valve replaced. I thought I would give an outdoor ride a try before the snow that is predicted for Friday gets here. I thought it would be a good chance to try out the new cleats on my new red shoes for the first time on the primary Specialized bike.

I pulled on all kinds of gear when I got home from the shop.

I aired the tires. I filled water bottle. I grabbed my computer. I took the bike outside and...

OH OH.

The cleats would not clip in. Nothing. Dead in the water. They worked fine on my backup Klein bike on the trainer, but not on the real bike. Crap.

Well, so as not to waste getting all that riding gear on, I went back up to get the Klein, taking it off the trainer and airing those tires, as out of round as the rear is from the trainer, to ride that bike instead.

First test of the shoes on the open road was a good one. Everything felt fine.

I did an experiment out there today too.

My indoor Carmichael workouts last 45 minutes and that usually means 10.4 miles when completed. Today I would ride my crit course in the neighborhood for exactly 45 minutes as well, just to see how the mileage compares....road to trainer. It was surprisingly close. 10.7 miles today out there in the cold air, meaning my effort on the trainer is about a normal effort out on the open road. Good to know.

Rare sight here...BOTH bikes out in the three-season room waiting for this cleat mess to be settled.

My best guess is that I will have to take both bikes in and have them swap out the pedals, switching old bike to road bike. What a mess. Still, mark this one down as the first outdoor miles of the new season. I'll take it. The road was clear and dry with no ice or snow dodging issues. Too cold for saltwater melting puddles as well.

2021 OUTDOOR

RIDE ROUTE-- Neighborhood Crit, 6 laps

MILES-- 10.7

AVE. SPEED-- 14.1

WEATHER-- Partly Sunny, 36, Wind 0-5

TOTAL OUTDOOR MILES-- 10.7

.....................

2021 INDOOR

WORKOUT-- Carmichael w/second half gear increase

MILES-- 10.4

TOTAL INDOOR MILES-- 31.0