Yesterday was just a simple commute. My normal 7.7 mile round-trip route. The morning was quite cool, so I wore a hat, gloves, and jacket. The jacket was too much. I started getting sweaty before I got to work.
I took the same way to work today, but had an appointment to donate blood after work. My normal route is not necessarily the most direct. Going by the Red Cross is actually more direct, and I ended the day with 7.3 miles. Going “out of my way’ saved me 0.4 miles.
It was cool again this morning, but I skipped the jacket, and just wore the hat and gloves. I still managed to take a few pictures while riding.
Clipless commuter seems kind of silly.
I’ve waffled back-and-forth on the clipless. I’ve had them for a few years, but I take them off in the winter so I can wear boots, then sometimes I don’t put them back on.
I’m actually enjoying using them right now, but it’s all short rides. I’d probably get sore feet again on a long ride.
Clipless pedals on a longer commute do help–my ride to work is roughly thirteen miles. For a mile or two, yeah, it seems more sensible to wear whatever shoes I have on when I walk out to the garage, and my “mile or two” bike has Ergon pedals on it (I can be wearing Vibram Five-Finger shoes and still feel good on those big pedals!).
If I’m pulling much weight in a trailer, I’ll go for the spud shoes, regardless of distance.