Mentoring newbies

[shootingstar]

It is important to at least hand signal with one hand off the handlebar, and shoulder check without wobbling the bike.

You never know when you're going to need it ...like the time when a bee got stuck with its stinger on my eyelid (flew between face and sunglasses!) and I had to frantically pluck off that bee from my eyelid with one hand, while still cycling up a road hill, hanging onto handlebar with other hand. For certain, that was an emergency manoeuvre in a moment of terror!

I've never been able to ride with no 2 hands. And won't worry about it ...at this point in life.

When I returned to cycling over 2 decades ago, I often cycled behind my partner to learn how he dealt with new routes, signalling, etc. and that's when I watched-learned how he could climb-spin up long hill and mountain grades without standing/rising from his saddle. He does this also with full weighted bike panniers and a loaded bike trailer also. He is a experienced and long distance endurance cyclist....I believe he has racked up 130,000 km. over the last 25 years and he doesn't rise from his saddle. Yes, he has iron legs.

Yet, I am certain he is incorrectly/negatively judged by younger/same age guys flying up the mountain grades on their carbon bikes in their team kits. (My partner has never cycled in a team kit. He never will. Just ordinary lycra, jersey and high-vi apparel. That's all.)

I don't think he's ever figured how to take a water bottle out of cage while riding along. He just stops and drinks. He doesn't race. He's done some group rides but he...just stops and drinks. He does have good geospatial skills so getting disconnected from group is less of an issue, compared ....to me.

It is actually really inspiring to see someone ahead, apply tremendous mental disclipline and stamina/strength with a weighted bike to exercise patience to go up 10-19% long grades in this way. It's helped me a lot of how to prepare myself mentally....because half of the time, that's what it is. Cycling for transportation is not for folks who dislike cycling with weight and who want to cycle fast a lot of the time.

It helps to learn to cycle up hills with heavy grocery weight with the image of someone else not dancing up a hill up on carbon bike, but someone who is pulling up ordinary everyday weight of food and other stuff on bike.