Locked in, sleepy

I decided I wanted to get road bike pedal/shoes/cleats to give them a try.  When you use bike shoes your feet are locked into the pedals.  As a result you are able to utilize your hamstring muscles in addition to your quads.  I have heard it makes you something like 40% more efficient/powerful when pedaling.  I wasn’t sure how I would like having my feet locked to the bike.  I had flashbacks to when Ali tried to ride someones road bike and dumped it because she couldn’t get her feet separated from the pedals when she stopped. 

I decided I didn’t want to spend a lot of money to test it out.  I bought a used pair of size 48 (EU sizes) Diadora bike shoes and a set of Shimano SPD pedals and cleats.  I only laid out $100 total.  The pedals showed up yesterday so I didn’t waste anytime getting them on the bike.  Although the Diadora shoes are technically SPD compatible shoes they don’t seem like a great match for the cleats I have. I got the cleats attached but they don’t seem quite as secure as they should be.

Getting yourself hooked into the bike the first time takes some practice.  Since you can’t see the bottom of your shoe, you need to get the cleat into the clip by feel.  It took me awhile until I was able to get locked in.  Once both feet were locked in I did a small test ride up and down the street.  I immediately noticed a difference.  Being able to generate power on the upstroke really puts more oomph into the stroke.

I was able to get my left foot out of the cleat pretty easily, you simply twist your foot outward.  My right foot did not want to release.  When I finally did get it off I saw that the cleat had shifted on the shoe, a result of the less than ideal cleat attachment.  I’m hoping the used shoes will work ok, if not I’ll have to drop some bucks on new ones eventually.

I was so tired all day yesterday.  I can only assume it was from my non-stop Sunday.  I was too sleepy to even do an EA Active workout last night.  I was asleep by 9:30.  I feel a bit better today but I am thinking another early bedtime would do me good, especially since we are going to the east coast for some concert on Wednesday night.

I started studying for my next Microsoft Certification test. I need two more tests to get the MCITP for Windows Server 2008 (MCSE).  I have had MCSE certification dating back to NT 4 days. 

It used to be when you passed an exam Microsoft would send you an official certificate in the mail along with various Microsoft paraphernalia.  Now they just send you an email with a link to a pdf where you can print the cert if you feel like it.   It sort of cheapens the accomplishment a bit.

I have no professional requirements to update my certification but I try to do it anyway just in case.  You never know when you’ll have to impress someone with a bunch of letters behind your job title.