So here's me, doggedly trying to improve my rudimentary riding skills. I finally admitted to myself that I can't do u-turns AT ALL, and so have been taking my hybrid to a parking lot to keep working at them. I WAS practicing with my road bike but was getting worse instead of better - panicking at near-falls clipped in. I figure that when I was a kid on a bike I made hundreds of u-turns without thinking about it, and my plan is, when I can turn easily on the hybrid, put the little platform cheaters on the road bike - and then finally, clip in.

One thing I figured out is that u-turns are one situation where it's better to slow using the rear brakes, is that right? Leaving the front wheel to move smoothly?

And then I realized something... I can make a clockwise u-turn pretty well. Turning counterclockwise (to the left) as is more necessary - AWFUL! slow, jerky, unstable, too wide, nearly impossible. AND riding on the road I realize - same for left turns! My right turns are kinda slow but smooth and I hold my line, left turns - I start too early, skirt the other lane dangerously, and do it again no matter how hard I try! grrrr

Any ideas how/why I am making this so hard for myself? I did do my crash on a left turn, but that was 1 1/2 years ago, and I should be, and want to be, over that now and on my way to being a better cyclist.

(btw, I am a larger rider and this is my first sport at age 47, so I am just developing skills like balance and coordination and physical confidence/courage now. Better late than never!)

thanks for any help - the extremely determined LLB