One Step Beyond wrote:
Hello,

I am newish to cycling shoes and the cleats engaging with the pedals. On my
ride this morning I kept running into road works - I am still a bit scared
about engaging and disengaging the shoes and pedals - especially with a
queue of traffic behind me and trying to pull off uphill. Any others have
this "fear" or is it to be expected when getting used to them? When I am on
my own I always seem to engage them immediatly - but with traffic at a
junction I always have to fiddle around !!!!

Is my method outlined below correct????
I have found that the best method is when coming up to a junction, start to
slow down then disengage the left foot about five yards from where I'll
stop. Then, when I am about to stop, lean my weight slightly to the left,
put my foot on the floor then get out of the saddle at the same time -
leaving the right foot still engaged with the pedal. I then turn the right
crank so that the pedal is at the top and then push off with the right leg,
I then have to fiddle for about five seconds getting the left foot engaged
with the pedal. I have had the thought that since the right pedal is still
engaged then when I push off I can keep my momentum going my cycling with
just the right leg and pulling up as well as pressing down to keep going so
that I am moving whilst engaging the left pedal.

I had an accuident nearly when starting out with cycling shoes when I pushed
off as above but couldn't engage the left pedal and my momentum went - I
fell on my side and a car nearly hit me. That scared me a lot and I am
still a bit weary about pulling off again

On a similar note, do most cyclists plan there cycling runs to avoid certain
junctons becuase of this very issue? Do you plan your rides so that most of
your turns are left, merging into the traffic as opposed to having to turn
right?

Have you tried disengaging your *dominant* foot instead? I'm right
footed so this is the one that comes out - it's easier to get it back in.