Am I too chikkin?

[denny]

Hi Ladies, I absolutely love this forum and have learned so much from you all, so much so that my dear friend who is a pro-rider has insisted that I join him for a group ride of 4 people on our local streets. I've restricted my cycling efforts so far to our local park and always with a more experienced rider as I still have trouble holding to the white lines, especially on the hills. My theory is if I haven't mastered the white lines yet, it would b foolish of me to take my wobbly body on the street even if he does "have my back". I plan to do a century early next year and know it would be good training, but is this a bit like putting the cart before the horse? Or am I just being a chicken? I really value my safety.

[fastdogs]

I say go with them. Four is a good small group, and as long as your friend will stay with you, you'll be fine. I was scared of riding in traffic until I went on a group ride. I learned a lot by watching the other riders ahead of me, and how they handled things like intersections. At intersections they'd stop and wait for the rest of the group and we could all cross together. After that, riding on the streets didn't seem like such a big deal. I still prefer trails, but I can usually find not-so-busy streets to ride on.
You'll have a great time, and it'll be the big step onto the streets that you need, with a group of friends!
vickie

[kermit]

I believe that you always benefit from riding with others when you can. Others will push you and this is a great opportunity to learn to ride in a group. I am sure you can handle four guys. If it's too much than you know the way home. I think you will enjoy it.

[Kalidurga]

I've restricted my cycling efforts so far to our local park and always with a more experienced rider as I still have trouble holding to the white lines, especially on the hills. My theory is if I haven't mastered the white lines yet, it would b foolish of me to take my wobbly body on the street even if he does "have my back".

Just curious-- When you ride, do you find that you're constantly looking at that white line right ahead of your front wheel? If so, that could be making you more wobbly. Lifting your gaze and looking farther ahead at where you want the bike to go can actually help you to ride straighter and more smoothly.

Would your friend be willing to ride with you a few times and offer pointers, so that you can be more comfortable when you join the group of four?

[TrekTheKaty]

Before I rode in the street for the first time, I plotted out a path of sides roads and drove it. That made me feel like I had a little more control and knew what was coming. However, riding with others is also a great way to learn. I agree with the thought of, can he take you out for a short ride first before you ride with the group? That may help your nerves. The advice I got of riding the roads more before my first century was some of the best advice. Many of the roads in my century I would have never ventured on my own, but with a group--felt we were more visible and I followed their lead.

Don't go if you're not ready--but you'll have to make the leap of faith eventually (the other benefit is, if this is a normal route they ride, cars will be more aware of the presence of cyclists. This helps also)

[Eden]

a few more tips to calm a wobbly bike

RELAX your upper body - relax your neck and shoulders, elbows slightly bent and used like a shock absorber - hands always around your handlebars, but no death grip. When you are stiff in the upper body some of the motion of your legs, instead of all going into propelling the bike forward, transfers up through your body and into your handlebars, causing your front wheel to wobble back and forth. So if you relax, not only will you not wobble so much, you'll go faster too. This is probably the biggest cause of a wobbly ride that I see in new riders. It will creep in on you too - so even if you start relaxed, take mental stock occasionally - bring your shoulders down, bend your elbows, loosen your grip.

Make sure you saddle is not up a little to far - if your hips are rocking back and forth over the saddle that can cause some wobble too.

And in the spirit of #1, make sure the bike is not too long - if you cannot reach the bars without having your arms straight out, elbows locked, your top tube is too long. If its only a wee bit too long you may be able to fix it with a shorter stem, but remember that a teeny tiny stem can affect handling too, so if you are finding that you need to go to a 5cm stem, its probably time to think about a smaller bike.

[denny]

Thanks to all for your suggestions.. so I did it this morning at 9:30 am.
I did have trouble holding my line. Either I was too far over to the right or too far to the left of the white line but my friend did a great job of pushing me (literally) over the hills while I brayed like a donkey from the exertion. Eleven people turned up for the ride and all apparently had the honor of being pushed over the hills when they first started the ride. Biggest suggestion from all was to keep doing the ride and it will get easier. Got a nice round of applause for completing my 17 miles too. I'm not as nervous as I thought I would be about the cars, just holding the line. ALL in all GREAT RIDE! I don't want to see another hill right now, but definetely worth the experience.

Now to control that breathing so people won't think Shrek the donkey is in their neighborhood.

[arielmoon]

Good job denny! Way to go!!

[RoadRaven]

Well done denny
Its such a great feeling...

And now you are hooked you need to learn this mantra...

"Hi, my name's denny... and I'm a cycling addict"

[gingerale]

That is so awesome! Congratulations!!

[indysteel]

Great job! You might ask your friend if he'd mind taking you to some country roads--if any are available--in your area. I think it's far easier to learn road riding away from busy traffic, especially if you're nervous.

As others have suggested, your emphasis on the white line makes me wonder if you'r paying too much attention to it. I tend to think you might be looking down just a bit to much, rather than out. Eden and Kalidurge gave some good advice on how to hold a straight, steady line. Also, be careful about actually riding on the white line, especially if it's rainy or humid out. The paint makes for a very slippery surface.

I would also suggest going to an empty parking lot or quiet road and practicing looking over your shoulder (for traffic or other riders) without wobbling your bike. This is an important skill to have and will help you be steadier and more predictable.

Another element of holding a steady line is a good "spin." Without going into great detail (because there are many threads on this topic), you want to be in a gear that allows you maintance a cadence of about 80-100 rpm range on a flat road, i.e., at a pace that is somewhere between mashing your pedals with too hard of a gear and bouncing on your saddle with too easy a gear. And you should aim to make complete circles with your pedal stroke. When you ride the next time with your friend, watch his pedal stroke and you'll get a sense of what I mean.

[wackyjacky1]

...while I brayed like a donkey from the exertion.

Oh, man, that was FUNNY! (And very familiar. )

Way to go, denny!

[pardes]

You have some GREAT rider friends. I loved it that ALL of them "had been pushed up the hill." That is classic camaraderie!

Good job on the 17 miles. Don't worry so much about the line. Stop thinking about it and you'll start hitting it.

[malkin]

I'll think of you as I 'hee haw' up my next hill!
Way to Ride!

[Jiffer]

Now to control that breathing so people won't think Shrek the donkey is in their neighborhood.

I can so relate! I did an organized ride a couple of months ago where my friend and I hooked up with a couple of guys that were going about our pace. We quickly became friends and, as we headed up a really steep hill, one of them says, "Okay, so here's the plan." I was all excited to hear any "plan" that was going to help me get up that hill better, because I was dying. He says, "Let's all listen to Jen's breathing." That would be me, of course. I guess my agonizing breathing was supposed to be everyone else's distraction from their own pain and misery! Or something like that.

I can tell you it does get better. I have gotten so much better at hills (and everything else) just since then. A couple of things I can tell you about breathing is, try not to breath too fast. Keep it controlled. Also, keep your chest open by the way you sit. If you are hunched over too much and your shoulders are forward, your lungs can't fill with as much air.

I ditto the comments on focusing too much on the white line. It's almost impossible to stay completely on the line anyway, if that's the goal, which it doesn't need to be. And it's especially difficult when going slow, as in up a hill.

Congrats on your first group ride! Sounds like you had a great first experience and great people to ride with. Riding with a group changes everything. I love it!