Bloodied but Unbowed - My first bike ride! - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

12-24-2006, 05:52 PM

> That is probably the source of my problem. I am so afraid of falling in
> the street that I was keeping too close to the side of the road.

Jebus, man. Get off the road and onto a paved biketrail. You will have
so much more fun if you're not worrying about the damn motor vehicles. Call
up the city, they'll have biketrail maps.

rms

12-24-2006, 06:15 PM

rms wrote:
> > That is probably the source of my problem. I am so afraid of falling in
> > the street that I was keeping too close to the side of the road.
>
> Jebus, man. Get off the road and onto a paved biketrail. You will have
> so much more fun if you're not worrying about the damn motor vehicles. Call
> up the city, they'll have biketrail maps.

I live in the country. Cars are few and far between. And I haven't
purchased a rack for the bike yet. It's a pain to squeeze it into the
back of the Neilmobile to cart it around. When I have a rack I'm on the
way to the bike trail.

12-24-2006, 08:04 PM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Big Men / Girls On Bikes Cycling Club was
created by [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] member mrprudhom for riders with
similar problems.

The Historian wrote:
> My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
> parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
> to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
> at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
> by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
> stopping.
>
> I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
> pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
> circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and
> the high winds today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward
> leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it
> I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and lifting gloves, so
> I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I seem to be OK.
> The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it home. It's
> fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)
>
> My total riding time was about an hour, including the time spent
> walking the bike back home. Total distance covered, excluding the
> walking, was about 1.5 miles.
>
> Neil

12-24-2006, 08:23 PM

landotter wrote:

> The Historian wrote:

> > I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
> > pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
> > circumstances.
>
> Nonsense, I see big guys on hybrids on my local bike trail all the
> time, zooming along. Ya just need to get your "sea legs" is all.

Absolutely right. Experience matters, not weight. There was a time when
I weighed way more than 275, and it didn't affect my ability to stay
upright. I would expect the OP to feel perfectly comfortable on his
bike in two or three weeks if he keeps at it.

--
Paul Turner

12-25-2006, 12:06 AM

Ernie Willson wrote:
> The Historian wrote:
> > My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
> > parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
> > to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
> > at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
> > by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
> > stopping.
> >
> > I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
> > pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
> > circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and
> > the high winds today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward
> > leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it
> > I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and lifting gloves, so
> > I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I seem to be OK.
> > The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it home. It's
> > fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)
> >
> > My total riding time was about an hour, including the time spent
> > walking the bike back home. Total distance covered, excluding the
> > walking, was about 1.5 miles.
> >
> > Neil
> >
> Congratulations! You've made a start. Keep at it and you'll be OK.
>
> I fell over on my first trip out because I couldn't get my feet out of
> the toe straps when I stopped. Truly embarrassing.

On my last road bike the bike shop refused to set me up with both toe
straps on the grounds that I was too new to toe straps and too new to
not having suicide lever brakes that I was likely to do something
stupid like forget to take my foot off the pedal and fall down. I had
to get used to the bike first and then I could have both toe straps.

Two days later, with ONE toe strap I came to a stop at a traffic light,
failed to put my foot down, and fell over.

Embarrassing enough to fail to unclip, or to fail to get your feet out
of the straps when you have two of them ,but when you only have one...
sheesh...

-M

12-25-2006, 06:07 AM

The Historian wrote:
> My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
> parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
> to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
> at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
> by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
> stopping.

Sounds like you're making progress. I think the main thing is to relax
and just go with the flow. Assuming the bike is adjusted properly and
comfortable to ride, my only suggestion would be to start off in a
fairly low gear (which will help you accelerate and get your balance
quicker). It's hard to balance at very slow speeds.

Art Harris

12-25-2006, 06:21 AM

Ernie Willson wrote:
> The Historian wrote:
> > My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
> > parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
> > to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
> > at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
> > by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
> > stopping.
> >
> > I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
> > pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
> > circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and
> > the high winds today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward
> > leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it
> > I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and lifting gloves, so
> > I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I seem to be OK.
> > The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it home. It's
> > fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)
> >
> > My total riding time was about an hour, including the time spent
> > walking the bike back home. Total distance covered, excluding the
> > walking, was about 1.5 miles.
> >
> > Neil
> >
> Congratulations! You've made a start. Keep at it and you'll be OK.
>
> I fell over on my first trip out because I couldn't get my feet out of
> the toe straps when I stopped. Truly embarrassing.

Sorry to hear that. I have flat pedals for just that reason.

12-25-2006, 06:32 AM

Paul Turner wrote:
> landotter wrote:
>
> > The Historian wrote:
>
> > > I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
> > > pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
> > > circumstances.
> >
> > Nonsense, I see big guys on hybrids on my local bike trail all the
> > time, zooming along. Ya just need to get your "sea legs" is all.
>
> Absolutely right. Experience matters, not weight. There was a time when
> I weighed way more than 275, and it didn't affect my ability to stay
> upright. I would expect the OP to feel perfectly comfortable on his
> bike in two or three weeks if he keeps at it.

Thanks. I wondered about the learning curve for a beginning bicyclist.
I'd like to go out again today, but it's cold and wet outside. Plus my
knee is swollen and bruised from the fall yesterday. Unfortunately,
winters in SE PA aren't known for good biking weather, so I may get few
chances to practice before spring.

12-25-2006, 07:02 AM

Mike A Schwab wrote:
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Big Men / Girls On Bikes Cycling Club was
> created by [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] member mrprudhom for riders with
> similar problems.

Thanks for the tip, Mike!

12-25-2006, 07:48 AM

Good job. Keep at it and you'll improve.

I want to say, though, that your weight, age and time off bike don't really
factor into the issues you mention regarding stability, etc. Perhaps you
just have an issue with balance, which you'd probably have even if you were
normal weight. Even hills are undoable for heavier riders, even though they
are more of a challenge than if you were normal weight. Moving slowly on
any bike is going to lead to instability, since as you approach zero mph you
get closer and closer to falling over. Keeping your speed up (not
necessarily fast) will help you remain stable. Don't be afraid to keep a
little speed, as that typically makes things on a bike work better (I'm
talking about > 3-5 mphs).

Since you're riding, why not just find a huge parking lot to ride in....with
few things to run into, you can zero in on your feel for the bike...

"The Historian" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:1166988308.200720.223660@42g2000cwt.googlegro ups.com...
> My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
> parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
> to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
> at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
> by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
> stopping.
>
> I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
> pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
> circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and
> the high winds today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward
> leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it
> I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and lifting gloves, so
> I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I seem to be OK.
> The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it home. It's
> fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)
>
> My total riding time was about an hour, including the time spent
> walking the bike back home. Total distance covered, excluding the
> walking, was about 1.5 miles.
>
> Neil
>