Help! My rear end is glued to the seat!

[RolliePollie]

I think I'm ready to ask for some advice on a little problem I'm having. Sorry, this is kinda long...

About a month ago, I made it my goal to get my rear end off the saddle not only to stand up and pedal, but also to stop correctly. I can stand up while I'm riding as long as I'm just coasting. But I absolutely cannot get myself to stand up and pedal. It's like my butt is glued to the seat. I could stand up and pedal as a kid, but that was on my banana seat Schwinn. It feels a lot different on a road bike!

Same goes for stopping. My current disaster-area method for stopping is to unclip both feet, basically come to a stop, and then wait for the bike to lean far enough that a foot can touch the ground. I know I should be unclipping only one foot and then standing up on the clipped-in pedal to dismount. But once again, my butt is glued to the seat! This is driving me crazy because my seat is STILL too low and I really, really want to raise it, but I'm scared to do it until I can get off the bike correctly. It's not so low that I can touch the ground, but it's too low nonetheless.

I think all of this stems from my fear of falling. I just don't feel like I have good enough balance. When I stand up while coasting, I don't feel like I'm in control of the bike. And when I'm coming to a stop, I am scared to death to leave a foot clipped (already fell twice trying that). At the same time, I'm scared to death to unclip both feet and then try to stand on one pedal because my foot could slip off.

Anyone have advice for me? I'm getting really frustrated. I've tried practicing on the grass, but once I get back on pavement, the old habits come right back. I've been riding for 4 months now...I can ride fast, do some hills, and handle a fair amount of mileage...so it seems completely ridiculous that I still can't get up off the saddle! Please help me!!!!

[Zen]

Haw about standing when you're going up a hill? That seems like it might be easier as it's kind of intuitive anyway.

It may just be the only thing that's going to cure you is actually falling. It's not that bad, really.

[RolliePollie]

Haw about standing when you're going up a hill? That seems like it might be easier as it's kind of intuitive anyway.

That's what I want to be able to do...when I'm struggling up a hill, I really WANT to stand up...but my butt won't get off the seat! Of course, I think my brain is to blame for this...

Silly brain, why does it have to make things so difficult?

[meridian]

I agree, just fall and get it over with already! It truly is worse on the ego than it is on the body.

But to get your butt off the seat and get a feel for it, have you thought about going to the park or an empty lot with your regular shoes (or one regular shoe and one cycling shoe) on to just play around and see if getting that butt out of the seat is easier? That way, you take clipping in/out out of the equation and maybe your worry off falling will lessen also since you wouldn't be completely attached to your bike.

I say, just make yourself do it once, and if you fall, the worst is over and you'll be able to tackle each attempt easier after that.

[JLZimrmn]

Whenever I come to a stop I just unclip my left foot and wat until I stop to unclip the right foot. Then I throw my right foot over the bike. It really is not good for your bike to unclip and put all of you weight on the pedal to get off of the bike.

As far as standing up. That took me quite a while of practice. I practiced a lot on my MTB before I got my road bike. I rarely standup on my bike but if I have to gain speed I can.

[Starfish]

Sara, something that has increased my confidence and strength for standing up on climbs is going to indoor spinning classes.

Now, in many ways, standing up on a spin bike and on a real bike outdoors bear no resemblance. However, doing some really hard spinning workouts with LOTS of out of the saddle time has increased an aspect of my leg strength that is different than seated hard work has.

I am noticing that although outdoor standing climbing is still something I need to work on, especially for coordination, changing gears while standing, etc, I am much more able to handle the wobbles and errors in gearing because my legs and upper body are much more used to it.

Good luck!

[Geonz]

took the words out of my mouth... get on a trainer where it *doesn't matter*... and practice that motor skill of getting off the seat. You want to do an end run around the ol' brain :-)

[DarcyInOregon]

Another way to look at it is there is not really a "right" way and a "wrong" way for you to pedal your bike. Do what works best for you. Remember that lots of the ladies on TE are racers or long-distance fitness cyclists, and the way they pedal is to enhance their abilities to achieve their goals.

When I bike with Suzie and Ellen, the three of us don't bike in the same way at all. Suzie goes at a fast cadence in a lower gear. I go at a medium cadence in a higher gear. Ellen pedals in the highest gear she can. Suzie stands going up the hills. Ellen power strokes up the hills. I hold back on the hills so I don't burn out my blood sugar and everybody and their grandma passes me, then I catch them on the downhill (hopefully.)

When we come towards a stop, Suzie unclips one foot and completely stops. Ellen peers quickly to the left and right and darts across the road. I slow down, shift down, then mostly teeter on the bike without unclipping, waiting for the traffic to clear to procede ahead without really stopping. If I have to stop, I unclip both feet and force myself to take the seconds to drink and whatnot with both feet planted on the pavement, then I clip my right foot back in and get ready to go again.

You got good advice. Let yourself fall sometime, and you fill find out it isn't a big deal.

Darcy

[RolliePollie]

You got good advice. Let yourself fall sometime, and you fill find out it isn't a big deal.

But I have fallen (several times now)

Thanks everyone, for the great advice. I need to force myself to be brave and try. I'm also glad to hear about other people's stopping styles. I guess when you need to stop, the ultimate goal is to stop and get off the bike, and at least I'm doing that. It just seems like everyone I've seen is able to stop and dismount gracefully, and then there's little old me looking like a big dork!

My nemesis hill would be a good place to practice both of these skills because if I can't stand up and pedal, then I can't get up the hill, which basically means I have to stop! Hmmm, tomorrow night then...I have a date with my nemesis hill. Good thing it's right by my house in case I need to bandage myself up afterwards.

I also think I'm letting myself get more worked up and freaked out about this than I should. If I succeed in un-gluing my butt, I'll let y'all know!

And if I fall, I'll let you know that too

[Kano]

Sara,

I have a sticky butt too, but I have found that I CAN stand as I get started from a stop, if I just don't plant it on the saddle too quickly! I get a little extra power, which feels good to me as I take off at a light, for example, where I want to get out of the way of bigger, faster, heavier vehicles, and it's also good practice, eh?

On hills, DH told me one day "hey, those other riders get off their seats when they go up, maybe you could too?" I said, yeah, maybe some day...

So far, as a new roadie, I am happy to stand while coasting, and as I get started from stops. I'm looking forward to being strong enough to pick up my butt when climbing at some point, but for now, I'm happy with just getting up the hill any which way I can, y'know?

I started climbing hills by using the "biggest" gear I could til I couldn't anymore, and gearing down and down and down. I was NOT getting up the hills, but I was sure I had to start with the harder gears, cuz what was I going to do if I ran out? My heart rate got out of control, my breathing got out of control, and my legs would give out. So, the trick I've used to get up the hills so far that may help you with your nemesis: before even starting up the hill, I gear down to the granniest of grannies, keep my heels down, and don't look at the top. I found my "recipe" by accident one day when I was struggling and riding in the granny gears just cuz my muscles were tight, it surprised the bejeezus out of me and worked that day, it's still working for me, and maybe some day I'll be pretty good at it and be able to try a bit harder gear! (I probably need one of those to stand at all, at least that's how the pedaling feels to me)

Karen in Boise

[Zen]

Maybe try it just a little bit at a time.

I don't mean stand all the way up for brief periods but next time you're going up Nemesis Hill get down in the drops, move your weight forward a bit, lift your butt just an inch or two off the seat,and pull up on the grips.

I'm the worst when it comes to handling skills. If I can do it so can you.

[DarcyInOregon]

I am one who can't pedal while standing up. I won't even try. My left foot is lame, totally, from shattering the joint in an accident back in 1985. I know if I put that much pressure on the foot I would rip out tendons and be in the hospital. It never even occurred to me that pedaling while standing up was something that was necessary. Many Category A cyclists don't pedal up hills standing up on the theory they save more energy by not doing so, which makes sense if they cycle with lower blood sugar levels than other cyclists.

And as for swinging the leg over the bike, gosh, I can't do that either. I did when I was younger. I could do all sorts of things when I was younger. But now I have arthritis in my spine and two ruptured disks and I am not going to make any movements to make my back go out. I can't see that anyone pays any attention to how I get on or off my bike.

Unless you are racing in competitions, when you bike you do what is best for you. You can look at other cyclists and learn from them, but it doesn't matter if you pedal standing up or dismount quickly with one foot on the pedal while swinging the other leg over the frame. Everybody is different. How you get up the hill doesn't matter so long as you get up the hill.

And as time goes by, the way you pedal will change and what you do on the bike while in motion will change. The changes will come naturally and won't be forced and it is the result of increased fitness level and increased miles.

The main focus should be on increasing the fitness level and reaching the goals, whatever goals they might be. If pedaling differently helps you achieve your goals, for example you really desire to become a Category A cyclist, then learn how to pedal differently. If not, don't worry about it. The other focus should be to bike without getting physical problems, like low blood sugar, electrolyte depletion, crotch pain, muscle cramps, pain in the back or neck and so on. If you can do a long ride without having physical problems or minimal problems, then you are probably pedaling just fine for your current level.

The more you are out on the bike and see other cyclists, the more you will see that everyone has different riding styles. I will tell you the funniest riding style I've seen. It was in April when Suzie and I did a metric century event. There were a lot of cyclists, around 1000. The metric was over a lot of rural roads I bike almost every day, so I knew coming up in another half mile was a really steep hill. After this steep hill there were still a lot of miles to go. Passing by me before reaching the hill was a young female with a real high cadence, like 120, and the cadence was so high she was bouncing up and down on her saddle like it was a trampoline. I followed, and Suzie was behind me, and maybe our speed was 1/2 mile less than the high cadence lady. We came to the hill and I geared down and went up it. The high cadence lady totally came to a stop, dismounted and walked, and Suzie and I passed her, reached the top and went down the other side. Another mile or so, here comes the high cadence lady again, bouncing up and down on her bike. She finished the metric before us, but did that mean I wanted to emulate her riding style? The answer is NO!

Darcy

[trekin']

I can stand up while I'm riding as long as I'm just coasting. But I absolutely cannot get myself to stand up and pedal... I know I should be unclipping only one foot and then standing up on the clipped-in pedal to dismount....

Would you ladies clarify why 1) someone would want to stand while coasting and 2) why one would want to dismount while clipped in to one pedal?

Just wondering...like Darcy, my butt is permanently glued to the seat...and when I dismount, having my feet firmly planted on the ground is no guarantee of an athletic-looking dismount...heck, taking one hand off the handle bars to signal a turn is risky enough for me!!

[Torrilin]

You don't *need* to stand. Really. It's possible to get up even very steep hills without standing to pedal. (I can remember doing it, just don't have the muscles now...)

The way I learned to stand and pedal was *first* I got comfy enough on the bike that I could handle turns with my hips. Then I learned to hold a line with my hips. Then I learned to ride with no hands. After I got those balance skills down, I was a lot more likely to stand and pedal. Every bike I've had, I've needed to relearn the balance skills some. Each bike handles a bit differently. The right movements on the Huffy kids bike I had in the 80s are not the same as the right movements on my modern mountain bike . Heck, I'm still not comfy riding with no hands on my current bike.

It sounds like you're uncomfortable with a whole slew of balance skills. So give yourself a break on the standing, and work on something that feels easier. Don't beat yourself up, just work on little things. Balance skills all work together, and the more little ones you have that you do right automatically, the more the big things will come together.

[Trek420]

My current disaster-area method for stopping is to unclip both feet, basically come to a stop, and then wait for the bike to lean far enough that a foot can touch the ground. I know I should be unclipping only one foot and then standing up on the clipped-in pedal to dismount.

Is anyone else thinking bike fit? I think I stop on either bike unclipping one foot and I can just point the toe down. Usualy I will weight the clipped in foot but I don't have to lean the bike much. There's waiting for the bike to lean far enough that you can go completely flat foot or even bend and flex the supporting knee.

But if you're waiting for the bike to lean far enough that a foot can even touch .... I suggest get thee to a LBS and check the fit.