Help me figure out how NOT to do the following...

I feel a silly posting this, but please bear with me. It's a little rambling, so I apologize in advance.:o

I took my new shiny Avail 3 out for my first proper ride today. I'm pretty sure cycling's not supposed to be an upper body workout. I was tense, which made the bike want to go all over the place because it'd respond to every twitch, which made me tenser, which...You know how it goes. I need to not freak out every time I see someone coming the other way--I was on a bike trail. I don't think it helped that I was wearing a borrowed jersey, so it looks like I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to talk about the death grip on the handlebars.

I'm also trying to figure out how to get myself in a better riding position. I'm putting a lot of weight on my arms, it seems, and what's sore is not my sitbones, but that bony spot at the inside of the top of the femur. I know that should be helped by getting myself to sit back a bit more. I have no idea how to get myself to do that, though.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance!

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Originally Posted by Owlie

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance!

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I have one little idea that might help-
Even though you already know how to ride, it sounds like you might benefit from going to a big empty parking lot with your new bike and just riding round and round and doing figure 8's, stopping and starting a lot. Doing this can really help you get a feel for the new bike and it can improve your handling and steering skills so you won't be so twitchy and nervous around others. Plus, the more you eliminate twitchy handling issues by more maneuvering practice, the more accurately you'll be able to tell what problems are actually due to bike fit and not due to 'new bike syndrome'.
Sundays are particularly good for say school parking lots to be empty. :)

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Originally Posted by Owlie

I need to not freak out every time I see someone coming the other way

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See this thread. Apparently nobody else thought much of the article I posted... but I still think we can all benefit from practicing "seeing with our whole eyes."


+1 to what Lisa said about fit and practice.

And then there's just adaptation. When I first built up my race bike years ago, it felt really twitchy to me. All I'd ridden before were a long-wheelbase, shallow angled tourer, and sport-tourers before that. The new bike fit me beautifully - custom frame and carefully chosen components - but I still had to get used to the nimbler handling. It didn't take long. :)

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

And then there's just adaptation. When I first built up my race bike years ago, it felt really twitchy to me. All I'd ridden before were a long-wheelbase, shallow angled tourer, and sport-tourers before that. The new bike fit me beautifully - custom frame and carefully chosen components - but I still had to get used to the nimbler handling. It didn't take long. :)

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I think that's a part of it. DangerBike did not turn well. I had to fight it to get it to turn. This one, not so much. I have to figure out that this one will actually move. :D

Bleeker--thanks. I'll be taking it out to a parking lot later this week, when I'm not exhausted.

+1 on the empty lot practice. It's been the best way for me to learn how a recumbent handles, for example.

And one of the things that works the best for me when I get tense (steep and/or windy descents) is to literally pull my shoulders down and focus on my breath, making sure I pull air all the way to the top and sides of my lungs.

One other strange-ish tip that I haven't remembered to do lately --- push yourself to smile! :) Believe it or not, the physical reaction of your body will be to relax, and the thought that I'm having to think about smiling often cracks me up enough to start a good cycle of "I AM actually having fun out here" which brings greater relaxation, which brings more fun......

good luck!

I agree with the bike fit. When I did mine, I was told how I needed to change my position, that I was putting too much weight on the handlebars (as you wisely noted of yourself), that I needed to put my butt further back on the saddle and flatten out my back, which felt like I was arching my back. It took some time and constant reminding myself from time to time to change something about my position, but for the most part I think I have it down now. I've been told I have good form, which was a great compliment.

The more weight you have on the handlebars, and the more tense you are, the more tense all your neck and shoulder muscles will be. On longer rides, you'll find you have neck pain. Your torso is supposed to support you for the most part, which was difficult for me at first because it hurt my crotch to sit the way I was supposed to, but that took time to get used to. As for the pain on the inside of your femur, you might find you need a different saddle, but get a proper fit first, work on your position and see if that fixes your problem.

By the way, when you are sitting properly, it opens up your chest and lungs and helps you get more air. This was a big help to me, as I tend to the be the one breathing way harder than anyone else!

The Avail 3 comes with an adjustable stem. It's easy to raise it up a little bit until you get used to having more pressure on the hands and being in a road riding position. If you are just getting into it most likely you are dealing with the initial aches and pains that are normal to new riders. When I started riding I had an OCR3 which is what the Avail 3 replaced. I gradually dropped the stem from where I raised it to a 'normal' riding position and I was then quite comfortable. For me it was a flexibility issue in my lower back too. You might try this in the beginning and see if it helps. Another thing to think about when you ride is engaging your core muscles. Make a conscious effort to hold you body upright with your core to help alleviate some of the stress on your shoulders, neck and hands. In order to stop the death grip you have to relax your shoulders and arms on the bars. You have a nice responsive bike you just have to learn not over react. That's where if your shoulders and arms are relaxed you are less likely to jerk the bars around. Some shrugs and ab strengthening exercises will help you maintain good bike posture. Hope that helps a little. Be safe. :D