Toe Overlap

I mentioned in a comment earlier that the new bike has a fair amount of toe-overlap. If you aren’t familiar with the cyclist’s dilemma of toe-overlap, and for some unfathomable reason would like to be, click here.

Anyway, on with the story. The other day I was heading out for a ride. Just as the light I was approaching turned red, the SUV behind me decided to squeeze by. Not wishing to be squeezed, I eased over and asserted my claim to next spot in the queue at the light. Putting my left foot down, I lifted the back wheel and positioned my right crank at about 10 O’clock-ish, ready to rock and roll as soon as the light changed. So far so good.

Then the light turned green and I was inexplicably stuck… frozen… immobilized. Before the realization dawned that I had managed to turn the wheel far enough to jam my toe against it, I had really, firmly planted my toe. My first instinct was just to unclip my foot and get myself loose, but so thoroughly stuck was I that this wasn’t possible. Long story short, Mr. SUV man had to wait through an extra cycle of the light while I, feeling like an ass, wished for a hole to crawl into. Thankfully there was no horn-honking, no angry words were exchanged, and I didn’t topple over like a complete spaz, though I did do one heck of a convincing spaz impersonation, in 5 O’clock traffic.

Ain’t life grand?