Old School Racing Pedal

When I drew the pedal of my road bike, see the post before, I couldn't help thinking back to my first road bike.
At the age of fourteen my parents bought me a road bike: a metallic green Peugeot. It was equipped with a luggage carrier, front and back light and mud guards. All this because I had to use it for my daily ride to school.
It had also toeclips, with leather straps, as you can see on this drawing. It took me quite a while to find a picture of a pedal with this kind of toeclip on the internet. Of course I'd rather drew it using my old bike as a model, but that isn't possible.
The bike was to be delivered at our local bikestore, just a few streets from our house. Finally the day came my bike arrived. Of course I told the shopkeeper I was familiar riding with toeclips. As you might guess I didn't made it to the end of the street. I had to stop to make the left turn, couldn't release my left foot on time and there I was lying on the pavement. Shame on me.
Luckily the bike felt on me, so nothing was damaged. Accept for my left knee, left elbow, my trousers and my jacket. As the guys in the Tour de France say: "cycling comes with falling".

Releasing The Foot On Time

Nowadays most every racing cycle has some sort of sophisticated toeclip. Adjusting the clip to the amount of force you use to get out of it, is essential. If you don't succeed in releasing your foot on time before you're stopped, it can cause an unpleasant encounter with the tarmac. Which may seriously damaging your bike!
To avoid extra costs because you have to buy another bike (those carbon frames break even looking at them), it's advised to practice relasing your foot. I mostly release only the left foot, having the right foot ready for action. In the beginning I thought it was also a very brilliant idea to release the tension a bit on the left pedal, but that turned into a bit of a painfull moment. One day I was standing on the pedals when suddenly my left foot skipped out of the pedal. Luckily enough I was able to keep control of the bike, but my manly parts weren't very pleased that day...