First time out with clip shoes

It wasn't until this Spring, since I'm off the safty of the bike trails with my old bike and on the road with "Slick", sharing it with cars ( ! YIKES :( ) that i realized what the whole safty thing was all about. I have only had one really scarry moment so far when a stupid van thoguth i looked like i might need some encouragement to hug the curb! I swear that van almost touched me. It was really moving too!

It sure makes you a different kind of driver now, doesn't it, when you're around other bikers.... GIVE THEM LOTS OF ROOM! and smile a lot, oh, and admire their bikes...cuz you know how proud they are of them. : ))))))

Gretchen ,

One-handed?? Don't feel bad. I can sort-of, but only long enough to say-- take off my sunglasses. Eating or finding my water bottle would definitely be inviting disaster!!!!:rolleyes: At my level, it is much safer for everyone within 50 yards, for me to just STOP before I reach for anything!!:D

I too am nervous about leaving the safety of the rail-trails and becoming potential road-kill. Not wanting to blow a zillion bucks, I found a blaze-orange mesh hunting vest at Wal-Mart today, that I can just velcro over my shirt. It was 5 bucks and it weighs almost nothing, but will hopefully make me a bit more visible. I also slapped some reflective tape on it, to up the ante a bit.:)

I just came back from a triathlon-training-camp in Florida and quickly wanted to share one event that happened during one of the rides in regards to single-handed-cycling:

A couple of our guys were riding in a single file on the side of the road. The first rider took one hand off the handle bar to point out sand in the path for the others. Unfortunately he didn't see the little pebble and lost control - he crashed. Thank God he fell to the right side, away from the traffic. A truck came up behind him and literally tore the bike to pieces. Our guy was very lucky and ended up with only a couple of minor scrapes and bruises - his bike on the other hand was a complete write-off...

So, whatever you do, be very careful out there.

Later I learned from our coach that it is against the law in Florida to bike with only one hand or without hands at the handle bar.

Be safe and have fun!!!

Quote:

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Originally posted by Hillhugger


A couple of our guys were riding in a single file on the side of the road. The first rider took one hand off the handle bar to point out sand in the path for the others. Unfortunately he didn't see the little pebble and lost control - he crashed. Thank God he fell to the right side, away from the traffic. A truck came up behind him and literally tore the bike to pieces. Our guy was very lucky and ended up with only a couple of minor scrapes and bruises - his bike on the other hand was a complete write-off...

So, whatever you do, be very careful out there.

Later I learned from our coach that it is against the law in Florida to bike with only one hand or without hands at the handle bar.

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Sorry to hear about the crash. Thank goodness the rider was ok; bummer about the bike!

This *would* have been a good opportunity for the coach to discuss bike handling technique, rather than lecture the riders about (often useless :p ) laws regarding bicycles.

The reality is that if a cyclist rides more than "casually" there will be situations where she has to take one (or both) hands off of the bars. How is one supposed to signal intentions to automobile drivers for instance?

Ok rant off...

I've watched plenty of riders navigate gravel, rocks, sticks, potholes, roadkill etc etc with one or no hands. Yes, it takes practice and skill.

For riding one-handed (and actually for riding with both hands too) it's very important to keep that "circle" (thumb touching one of your fingers) around the bar, with the elbows loose. The elbows absorb the shock and keep the bike from bouncing all over the place should you hit something. Knees should be loose and relaxed as well; this becomes even more important when riding hands-free. Think of your elbows and your knees as your suspension.

And since you mention that it was a tri-camp, a word about aero bars. Aero bars are great for time-trialling and triathlon (of course) but they really don't belong in group rides or pacelines, unless the rider is uber-experienced and smooth on the bike. I mention this because the extra weight often makes the steering on the front end all wonky. I've convinced most of the tri-women I train to remove their aero bars for general riding, and just put them back on a few weeks before their events to reacquaint themselves with that position. So if you are new to riding and want to master one-handed riding...ditch the aerobars :)

Hi Pedalfaster,

our coach actually took the time to discuss handling and technique during a seminar we had the same evening of the event.

Our unfortunate guy is one of the elite bikers and knows how to handle his bike very well. I guess it was just a freak accident and trust me - he learned his lesson.

I agree with you, there are a lot of "useless" laws out there. In my opinion one should rather use common sense when it comes to hands on handle bars.

I personally haven't tried those aero bars yet so I can't comment on those.