Newbie: from cocky to petrified..

A few months ago, a friend gave me an AMF bike he found in the boiler room at his job. She is old, rusty and reliable. I call her Josephine. For a novice rider like myself, Josephine has been an unexpected joy, to the point where I decided to invest in a road bike. Well, I got fitted for a '08 Trek 1.2 on Saturday and purchased her on Monday. Her name is Nina. Unfortunately, I am finding that the level of confidence I experienced with Josephine is no where to be found with Nina. My taste for a rough, fast ride into center city and back has suddenly turned into a lump of panic everytime I look at Nina. What is going on??? I really wanted this bike, talked about it incessantly and I had hopes of building up to long distant riding. Did I upgrade too soon? Or am I simply intimidated by prospect of riding a real road bike and all that it entails?

o.

You gotta get to know her. Don't expect her to feel like Josephine.

I feel like my bikes are part of me. I have a great deal of confidence on both of them. A few weeks ago, I went with my friend to test ride some bikes. You would think I'd never been on a bike before. I totally lost all my cool. I'm really used to clipless pedals, so the flat pedals totally threw me off.

My "Vendetta" scared me until I finally got to racing a friend and let him go only to realize he indeed hadn't killed me by the bottom of the canyon ;) Now I'm running him out of gears and pushing him to go faster even in mild crosswinds (we where hitting 36-37mph in the rollers yesterday. SOOO much fun).

You just have to "get on the horse" and get used to the new bike's personality. Wearing some of the "new" off doesn't hurt either; at least with me some of the timidness comes from not wanting to "put a scratch on the new baby".

Have fun with the new ride :)

Could part of the problem be going from a freebie bike to one you paid good money for? Maybe a little afraid to have anything happen to the lovely new bike? Just thinking out loud. :)

When I got my Luna, I just stared at it for weeks, thinking, "this bike is way too good for me." I finally rode it around the block, and then around the neighborhood. Eventually I took it on a group ride. And then another, and another.

Keep at it and Nina will become your new friend. It does take time. It's like having the most pretty and popular girl in high school wanting to be your friend. For me, that just didn't make sense, so I was suspicious. Then I finally accepted that yeah, I am good enough for this bike.

Just had to smile. You know - nonbikers would read this and think us totally insane... :D

My suggestion is to take the new Bike, Nina, I think her name is; to a safe place. Somewhere that is flat, somewhere where there are no cars or few cars and practice a bit to get used to Nina. Go to an industrial park parking lot on the weekend when no one is there. Somewhere like that and you will be getting along with the new bike so fast that you will wonder what your problem was in the first place.

Spoke

I remember how awkward I felt on Pinky when I first got her. I had been riding on the back of a tandem for a while when I got her. First I rode my husband's bike to "try out" what it would be like. It's amazing how the handlebars actually MOVED! I was so used to the tandem handlebars that were mounted and secure. They did NOTHING to steer the bike whatsoever! :confused: Anyway, when I got on my husband's very light road bike with handlebars that actually moved and I had to control, I felt so wobbly and weird! That same bike actually became my bike on a different frame. All his components were put onto a new Cannondale CAAD9 frame, with a pink saddle and some pink handlebar tape, of course ... and I was off and riding my very own road bike.

Definitely took some getting used to. In high school I had a ten speed road bike. Much heavier and, therefore, easy to ride with no hands. I've been riding Pinky for a couple of years now and STILL don't feel comfortable riding with no hands. She's so light, it just doesn't work! But I'm comfortable with her in every other way and pretty quickly became so.

You'll get used to her. Just ease into it. :)

I will say that the first time I rode my road bike it was quite a shock! I had ridden beater-bikes for years, then got a decent hybrid and soon after upgraded to a road bike. It handled totally differently!

But I think I'm a bit of a cowboy. I said "Heeeha!" and that was it.

Go for it and have fun. Spokewench's suggestion to go somewhere flat and safe to start is great.

I cried on my first outing on the roadie... from fear. and on the second... and I'd been riding in the city for years.

Fred has been replaced by Rosita now.

I remember when i got my first road bike too. My husband was all excited for me - and the emotion I felt was horror. What, is he kidding? THIS is supposed to be fun?
i was very fearful and even fell down a couple of times - this was before I went clipless, so that wasn't the problem.

It takes a while to get used to a new bike. NOW, when i get on a different bike, I have the same problem, but MY bike, I'm used to it.
take your time. You'll be fine.

I was a little frustrated on my first rides on "Dara" after riding a borrowed bike for a few months. I realized it was because I could not hear her yet. I had to learn her sound because it was different from "Bertrum" (the Trek 2300).

I had also plunked down a good deal of money for her and I was a little over protective of her.

Give it some time and good luck!

I don't know...

It could be the bike.

I never felt at one with my Pilot, finally sold it and got a flat bar 7.6 FX.
Much better.

Then I got the Aurora, drop bars but wider tires. I'm feeling good on that bike too.

So. Make what you will of that.

Thanks for the much needed feedback! I think Tulip is right, I don't think I'm good enough for Nina!! She is a total Betty, sleek, classy... the total opposite of my bohemian lifestyle. And yes, I am more than a little freaked about dinging her bike parts. But I will get up at some ungodly hour, when traffic is relatively non-existent, and ride the Schuykill Trail with Nina on a regular basis until I can work out the kinks in our relationship. Thanks again!

Kind Regards,

O.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tulip

It's like having the most pretty and popular girl in high school wanting to be your friend. For me, that just didn't make sense, so I was suspicious.

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Too funny ... I just brought home a new LeMond (that sat in the store for almost a year and a half waiting for me to find her) and I feel the same way!

I did it. I spent the weekend mornings on my bike. I tried not to over think things and just peddled. It worked. By Sunday morning I simply headed out the door around 5:30am and really enjoyed the ride. The saddle definitely has to be changed and I'm a little iffy about the wheels. We shall see. I can't believe I actually own a bike I can pick up with one hand! Thanks again for the pep talk folks, I truly needed it.

For MDladybug, if you lived in Philly I would definitely bike out with you, but most likely that isn't the case, so get on your the LeMond and ride!

O.

Thanks, omachine! I am planning my first ride (and foray into the world of clipless pedals!) on the parking lot of my neighborhood elementary school tomorrow night.