Clickity-Clack

Promised an update and a photo or two of my attempts to cheap out on a pair of clipless shoes. First off I had to abandon my experiment of bolting my old shoes to my existing pedals. They worked but:

1. The peels of laughter at the coffee shop watching me disengage, walk in in my sock feet, walk out and remount was too disturbing. You have to remember my friends are of the mental capacity that prohibits them from driving and chewing gum without getting a distracted driving citation.
2. Hanging a spare set of sneakers by the laces around my neck was no better and that old set was way to close to my nose.
3. My sweet wife, The Pearl of the Orient, informed me I would be dead meat if I ever again brought in a pair of socks in that condition.
4. It took too long to get out of the shoes to answer the call of nature. I'm a country boy
5. It took too long to bend over and get my feet in the shoes

But they worked fine. Here are the picts. Quit laughing!

So following Trikester Hal's advice I searched the lbs for a cycle shoe that would fit. With size 49 feet you don't ask the colour, make or style. Simply a pair that will fit that I don't require a 2nd mortgage for. I found them at MEC- Mountain Equipment Co-op at Portage and Donald in downtown Winnipeg, MB. The sales people were super friendly and helpful I got a pair of Pearl Izumi X‑Road Fuel IV Cycling Shoes- $125, a Set of WellGo M17C pedals, dual type (clip one side) and SPD clips $44. They put the clips on and gave me a couple of tips about shims and cautioned re over-tightening the clips. That's Canadian Pesos (.75) not U.S.

At home I installed the pedals and took them for a spin. Clicking in took a bit of doing as I was warned the fit might be a little tight and a shim might be needed. I fashioned a shim out of a piece of strapping and voila, perfect. Here's the picts.

The cleats positioned as far to the rear of the shoe as possible

The Well Go  clip pedals. Other side is platform. Note the pedal extensions installed earlier

The strapping material used to make a shim to place between the shoe and the clip

 I installed the clips as far to the back of the shoe as possible. For some that may be a no-no, but I needed that to prevent heel strike. The platform on these shoes is very stiff with little flex. The back of the heel is tapered to ease walking and the tread is okay, but I would not want to take any extended hikes in them.

On the trike they are great. Secure with enough wiggle room to move the angle of your feet. The security and ability to 'pull' on the pedal was quite noticeable under heavier load. My knees like them.

Spring-sort of- finally arrived today so I went for a nice long ride after a 5 km warm-up around town, I headed for the country for a 49km circuit. I was bushed when I got back to town, but it was a blast.
After supper I did another 5 km around town. I decided to do this blog up tonight as any new muscles I may discover tomorrow morning may preclude me from getting out of bed