clueless

[BikingNurse]

Hi everyone,
I have been riding for about 2 years -for fun. But I have gotten more serious in the past 3 mos. I love trails and mountian biking. But I feel lost. Any tips, suggestions? I am doing a Bike MS with a team from work. (144 miles over 2 days on a old rail road that was converted to a trail). I am super excited but Really don't know about gears (I never change them cause I don't kow what I"m doing with them). Please help I want to do this and do it safe for me and other riders.
Thanks.
Julie

[Zen]

You won't have to worry much about shifting gears while riding a rail-trail. In fact, it's a fine opportunity to fool around with them and find out how they work.

[Tri Girl]

Welcome to TE.
We don't have any rail trails around here, but it sounds like a great place to just go and experiment on your own. Just shift through the gears a number of times to get a feel for each one. It's just a matter of practice. Just like sticking an IV, it takes practice to get it down. In no time you'll have a good feel for your bike and will be shifting like a champ. If all else fails, just ask someone. We were all new at one time and didn't know what we were doing.
Want to know something embarrassing? When I got my first "adult" bike, I thought my shifter was broken because it wouldn't move. Took it to the LBS and they giggled at me because I had shifted the brake lever all the way over and had to push the inside lever to get it to shift back up. DUH! They showed me how to go through all the gears and what they meant. I felt a little like an idiot, but the bike guy was super nice. He said we learn from asking. He was right. I'm glad I asked and learned.

When's the MS ride?

[Owlie]

I still haven't figured out the gears on my bike, so don't feel too bad. I know one way makes it easier and the other way makes it harder on one hand, and it's the reverse on the other...I just don't know which way round it is.

[BikingNurse]

Thanks for the tips and encouragement. I really appreciate the stories. You gals are great!

[shootingstar]

I don't know how your bike gearing is set up but you might find this article useful.

http://bicycletutor.com/gear-shifting/

For now, set your left-hand gear shifter at 2 and on the right-hand gear shifter, shift between 3-6, depending on whether or not you are cycling over flat terrain or must deal with a rise. Make sure, BEFORE you start ascending a hill, shift on right-hand gear to smaller number (ie. to 3), so that you will find it easier to pedal.

(I actually have never used setting "1' on either left or right-hand side. It's just my style of cycling. Everyone is different.)

Recognize that you can end up shifting gears several times in 1 short trip. It's for your comfort and cycling efficiency.

On my first bike touring ride (and I was carrying my own bike pannier) in Vermont which was 550+ kms., many years ago, the first half of trip I didn't know how to use my gears. To the say least, I was grateful to have understood it otherwise the entire trip would have been unnecessarily difficult for me. And Vermont has hills.