Why yes, it does have wood siding

A few weeks ago I posted some pictures of the poor snow-plowing at the intersection of Hiawatha and the Greenway. Right after I took the photo I rode around the snowbank to get ready to cross. My left pedal hit the edge of the curb and the plastic cage snapped. I was somewhat surprised, because I had always assumed that the right pedal would go first. I always pull my foot out of the right cage when the terrain is uncertain, so that pedal cage has smacked the road surface thousands of times more.

That's a pedal that's seen a little action. But, through the miracle of the internet wayback machine I can take you back to when it was a young pup.

OK, so maybe it's not exactly internet trickery. It's really more of a packrat tendency. Here's the story.

I got this bike back in 1991 when I was living in Fargo-Moorhead. I rode it for about eight or nine months with the basic platform pedals that came on the bike. Then one night I was riding home from a buddy of mine's house. It was late, I'd had a few Ecto-cooler and vodka drinks (first mistake). I was riding on the sidewalk (second mistake). After crossing a street I missed the curb cut and hit the curb so hard that I dented both the front and rear rims of the bike. My feet flew off the pedals, my ass flew off the seat, and only the patron saint of dumb drunk guys kept me from crashing. I decided then I needed to get some pedals that kept my feet attached to the bike. True clipless pedals were out of my price range at the time, so I made a trip to the local Scheel's.

$19.99. Probably overpriced. But I loved the "clipped in" feeling. So much so that I tried to get the future Mrs. VelociPete to try it. I bought a second set of pedals for her bike, which is what you're seeing in the photos. But after trying my bike she decided she didn't like them. I'm not sure why I never returned these, but instead have moved them approximately 10 times across 3 different states. But there they are.

Fast forward back to the present. I rode for a few days with the busted pedal. Then last week as I was riding through Minnehaha Park I broke the cage on the right pedal. A matched pair. I thought about just swapping out the old for the "new." But since the Raleigh has become a dedicated winter commuter I've been contemplating getting rid of the straps. So I removed the cages and straps and I'm back to basic platforms.

We'll see how long it lasts. It certainly didn't help me on Wednesday when I went down on the icy Mendota bridge.

Date: March 9
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
March mileage: 56
Year to date mileage: 657