I had been going back and forth for the last few months trying to decide if I should get new pedals for my bike.  Stay with older LOOK or move to Shimano or Speedplay??? Last weekend I still could not decide so in the end I stayed with the older LOOK pedals that were on the bike.  The problem, it was SEVERELY difficult to clip in and out on the older pedals.  I could not do it on a dime.  I thought that there was something wrong with me.  I went out this morning for a long ride with a lot of trepidation.  I met my friend L and we began to ride but she could see that I was really nervous. (Actually I was a hot mess. If I could not clip out, a crash was in my near future).  After a while, she looked at my cleats and pedals and told me that there was definitely something wrong.  I had it on the easiest setting but still could not clip in and out without a ton of force.  

We decided to stop riding and head to the bike shop to get it fixed once and for all.  At the bike store, the guys were perplexed as to why it was so hard to get the cleat in and out.  They could not do it either.  IT WAS NOT JUST ME!!! I decided to buy new LOOK pedals and cleats.  Thankfully, the bike mechanic looked at my bike and noticed that there were a couple of other things off with the bike so he took care of that for me too.

L and I headed back out for our long ride.  With the new pedals and cleats, I could clip in and out VERY easily.  I was a new woman!  All of my nerves and doubts washed away.  We headed out into beach street traffic and I was not nervous at all.  In fact, if the race were tomorrow, I know I would be fine.  It is amazing how when something is off but you do not know enough to know if it is just you, it can paralyze everything.  In my gut, I knew I needed new pedals in the first place but tried to save the $150.  In the end, the $150 for new pedals and cleats was well worth it!

Happy girl on the ride.  What a difference new pedals made!!!!

Moral of the story: If something feels wrong, ask someone you trust for help.