Riding Clipless or Not

Recently, I had to do a trail ride clipless because I forgot my SPD shoes. I realized at the trailhead that I never stuck my shoes in the car. My choices were to forget the ride and head home or ride with what I had. With MTB rides for me not being an everyday occurrence, I decided to wing it in regular shoes. Thankfully, this particular trail in Birmingham, AL (at the Trussville Sports Complex) is mainly technical with few long climbs. Yes, it wasn't an ideal situation, but I actually had a lot of fun. Once I figured out how to keep from slipping too much, I enjoyed the style of riding that reminded me of BMX in my youth. I was more comfortable in an off-camber rocky section because I knew I could but my feet down quickly. In the tight switchbacks, I was much faster because I could use my foot to help navigate the inside of the turn. By the end of the ride, I was questioning if I really need to be clipped in. Granted, I may have hated the whole experience if I had one long climb. Still at certain trails, it may be a whole lot more fun to just ride with platforms. I'm thinking hard about ditching the SPDs with the Florida move. The twisty trails with only small elevation changes may make clipless a thing of the past for me. Perhaps there is a pair of Crank Brothers 50/50s in my future. Father's day is just around the corner.