Novice needs training help

[CyclChyk]

Ok Gals, I need your help again.

I've been humbled these last few months both on the "road" and here on TE. I was never an athletic child and I'm quickly learning bicycling is much more than balancing on two wheels. (I am fast becoming the tomboy I always wanted to be. Bruises, road rashes, scrapes and cuts. Thank God no broken bones (yet). Maybe I SHOULD have taken up MTB?? )

Several posts I've read lately refer to many different cycling training tips, such as the figure 8; water bottle on ground (NEVER gonna get that one); steer into turns with your hips, not your arms/hands.

All of this is stuff I have never heard of. SO - nearest bicycle training I can find is in DC (I am in SC/GA) and VERY expensive (cuts too much into CAT's blingbling fund)..... I've searched the web trying to find useful info on training tips and keep coming up empty handed.

Can anyone tell me of a website or something of other training avenues that could benefit me??

I'd really hate to humble myself by telling my hubby "You're right (again). I need serious elementary help....."

[Geonz]

The League of American Bicyclists has "Road 1" courses that include the basics. Where on the SC/GA border are you? I know there are some active clubs in upstate SC and some of them are bound to be instructors. The courses tend to be inexpensive (and more local).
There's a lot you can do just practicing.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Here are some good info sites to read:

http://bicycling.about.com/od/beginningcycling/

http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html

http://lightinside.org/bike/begin.htm

[PscyclePath]

Several posts I've read lately refer to many different cycling training tips, such as the figure 8; water bottle on ground (NEVER gonna get that one); steer into turns with your hips, not your arms/hands.

Can anyone tell me of a website or something of other training avenues that could benefit me??

I'd really hate to humble myself by telling my hubby "You're right (again). I need serious elementary help....."

Petra:

The best way is simply to put your butt on your bike and go ride, girl... ;-)

Find a big empty parking lot and ride in circles, figure-8s, whatever, and learn to be comfortable and confident handling and controlling your bike... starting, stopping, clipping in and out, taking corners and making those nice swooping turns at speed, riding slow and track standing to improve your balance, etc.

Find a quiet section of path or a queit neighborhood, and ride at a selected pace to build your endurance, so tht your "motor" will take your bike and you whereever it is you want to go, and still have energy to have fun (and still get home) when you get there.

Once you have a little endurance, put a little more effort out, for example by doing some simple intervals, sprints, and hill climbs to build your power. Power makes you faster, lets you go up hills, and lets you run down and catch that cute feller on the Trek way up to road just to show you can drop him like a cold 'tater ;-)

A website and weekly newsletter that I've found useful has been http://www.roadbikerider.com, which features a number of good E-books on cycling, the aforementioned weekly newsletter, reprints from old newsletters, and bunches of other stuff. The forums here at TE offer a whole lot of good advice, as do the forums over at www.bicycling.com.

There's lot's of cycling books out there, but few of them will do you any good without a good bit of time in the saddle figuring out what advice works for you. Experience is the best teacher, it's just that the tuition is so derned high ;-)

Happy trails...

TE

[CyclChyk]

I've got the basics down. We ride probably about 80-100 miles a week on average. This is on a bike/ped path and not on actual road. My average speed is about 14mph, sometimes more. My top speed each time runs about 22-24mph. I can ride clipless no problem as long as no "surprises" come at me. I've got all the lingo down, I can coast at a crawl w/o having to unclip. I can drink from my water bottle without having to stop altho I do slow down quite a bit.

You guys are totally right in that I just need to practice practice practice. Where I get frustrated is that other than just ride time I don't know how! So reading about the figure 8, and the turn w/hips thing was foreign to me. And its stuff like that I need to know.

I've clicked on a couple of the links you all were kind enough to post however so far I've only read stuff I already know/do.

Did I mention I was frustrated?? I don't want to get out in traffic until I get these little tips of the trade under my belt. I live in SC but everything I do from work and recreation is basically in Augusta GA; Home of the Masters. As in golf. This is not the friendliest area for bicyclists unless you are confident enough to ride the roads.

I will do some group rides. Eventually. Once I learn to do a figure 8 and turn with my hips.

(Sorry if I sound like I am whining. I guess to some point I am I just thought I was further along than this.)

Maybe its just PMS

[Grog]

Did I mention I was frustrated?? I don't want to get out in traffic until I get these little tips of the trade under my belt. I live in SC but everything I do from work and recreation is basically in Augusta GA; Home of the Masters. As in golf. This is not the friendliest area for bicyclists unless you are confident enough to ride the roads.

I will do some group rides. Eventually. Once I learn to do a figure 8 and turn with my hips.

Take it easy CyclChyk. I've never been riding with you but from what I read I'm sure you're fine. Don't be so frustrated and get out there, on the road, riding. Most road cyclists can't pick up their water bottle from the ground and have never even thought about doing that, and they are not in trouble riding on the road for so much.

Just go in a parking lot where you're nearly sure there won't be any car any time soon and play with your toy - the bike, that is.

Try stopping at a specific line, coming sort of quickly. Try only the back brake and see what happens (skidding). Then only the front - see, your weight is shifting forward, you need to brace it with your arms. Then various combinations of both brakes. You're learning things.

On another day, after a ride, go back to the parking and start circling around the intersection of two lines (parking spots dividers). Make smaller and smaller circles. Ride with the brakes on - see, you can still go forward while braking at the same time. Smaller circles again. You might fall, but it's unlikely that you'll break anything.

In two weeks, try the water bottle trick. Put the bottle at the intersection of those same two lines and see what you can do.

When you ride home, practice riding with only one hand. Try to pick up your water bottle and drink with one hand, then the next. Make sure you are on a traffic-calm street if you're insecure. If it's cool and your nose is running, try a snot rocket, they're empowering. One day you can even try riding with no hands. For one second. And then maybe more. Be sure you're in a calm area, again, and be focused.

It's not more complicated than that. There are not that many more things to learn. Ah, yes, descending. Cornering. All things you can practice by yourself in real-life situations. Track stands.

Take it easy and enjoy the ride...

[Mimosa]

Grog is right, I never did the bottle thingie, the 8 stuff or whatever.

All the others tricks I learned from riding in groups and watching others do it.

Isn't there a bicycle club/group/team near you which you can join. There is no better (and fun) place to learn real riding then in a group. You have to pay attention all the time, you get to see how others are doing it, get direct feedback when you are doing something wrong, you drive at a much higher speed and reach larger distances seemingly without extra effort etc.

I know it's scary to drive in a big group, you see wheels everywhere, on the left, right, in front of you. But you can learn so much from it and in due time you'll loosen up and no longer think about it.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If you've been only used to riding on nice smooth straight bike paths, then yes, I can understand why you'd be nervous going out into the streets. I do suggest you put in some empty parking lot time practicing tight circling, figure 8's, zig-zags, quick stops and starts, etc. Practice leaning into serpentine zigzagging. Practice really tight turns and circles. I did this for about an hour maybe 4 times when I started, and it REALLY helped me get comfortable with controlling and maneuvering my bike. Just do it.

[eclectic]

Great practice advice given

Another thing - Give yourself more credit - you all ready know alot and are getting a lot of saddle time in

Correct me if I am wrong - you need more confidence and specific skills to ride on the street w/ the big mean nasty vehicles

How are you w/ using your mirror? Turning and shoulder checking, signalling turns, lane changing, getting started quickly when the light turns, being in the correct gear to start again? these are real life skills when riding in traffic

Practice at an empty parking lot, move to regular quiet residential areas and gradually work up to some of the busier roads.

There was a great safety site posted here awhile back that is worth reading - I will see if I can find it

[eclectic]

Here's a website - I don't think it is the same one as what i was looking for but it has the same info

http://bicyclesafe.com/

[CyclChyk]

Thanks everyone for all your input. I think Electric hit it on the head. I lack confidence with the mean nasty car thingys....... and I will definately check out the link.

I've got gear changing down; I need to utilize a mirror (I have lazy eye) as vision looking over my left shoulder is limited. And Electric, I really like your advise of: "Practice at an empty parking lot, move to regular quiet residential areas and gradually work up to some of the busier roads". Quite simply this could be all the training I need to get off the bike path and into the "real" world.

[GLC1968]

Petra -

Add to your training: practice at 'off' hours first. When you do move onto the roads, do it at times when traffic is lightest. Then gradually work your way into the busier time frames.

The old adage 'just do it' is somewhat appropriate here. I was very nervous the first time I rode in real traffic (as opposed to weekend rides on rural roads) but the more I did it...the more comfortable I became. I used to get serious nervous butterflies every single day leading up to my commute. Every day! Now I don't. I'm still super wary and overly alert out there, but it no longer makes my stomach turn!

[aicabsolut]

Mind sharing the training in DC you found? I could use it too. Here, there's not much in the way of off peak hours.

[CyclChyk]

AICABSOLUT - this is the website that interested me:

http://www.waba.org/new/content/ccc.php

Good luck. Be sure to send pointers my way should you get an opportunity to partake in any of the courses.

[PscyclePath]

...
Did I mention I was frustrated?? I don't want to get out in traffic until I get these little tips of the trade under my belt. I live in SC but everything I do from work and recreation is basically in Augusta GA; Home of the Masters. As in golf. This is not the friendliest area for bicyclists unless you are confident enough to ride the roads.

I will do some group rides. Eventually. Once I learn to do a figure 8 and turn with my hips.

Oddly enough, Augusta is where I started back into riding a little over four years ago ;-) Went to Outspokin' bike shop over on Walton Way, and wound up with a Trek XO1 'cross bike. Spent a lot of time riding down on the Augusta Canal, learning to control the bike on both pavement and dirt (the Canal path is mostly dirt with a little gravel here and there), and once I got a little confidence and endurance, started showing up for the Saturday morning group rides from the bike shop, as well as riding a little more around the downtown area and the fairgrounds. Still have fond memories of that place, though I returned home to Arkansaw at the beginning of '03 and upgraded the XO1 to a 5200 road bike.

Try the RoadBikeRider.com web site for some good tips on how to pick up some basic skills, and work these practice sessions into your regular rides. What worked for me was the "kid with a new toy" approach.... "hey, I wonder if I can do that... " and learning from the bumps and bruises along the way. Sometimes you'll want to ride "outside the envelope" so that you'll recognize what the wrong way feels like and figure out how to get out of the hole you've dug for yourself, and I'll note that both books recommending this approach also advise to always ride with gloves and helmet and practice in a grassy spot whre it won't hurt so much when you "touch the floor."

Go on some group rides where there's a pack of people that you can practice social cycling with... stuff like riding politely in a pack or paceline, the luxury of being able to suck wheels and hide in the back of the pack when the wind kicks up, or when you're feeling a little frisky, being able to ride all them rascals off your wheel if you decide to do so. Riding with others, either a partner or a whole pack, injects a little social competition into the game, and all of you will (eventually) wind up getting stronger. Mix up your riding so that you do a sprint or two each ride, or work in some climbing to help build up your power.

If I recall right, the pack pulls out from Outspokin' at 8 o'clock Saturday morning each week, and they go out through Broad Street, out over the river to SC and back for around 30 miles or so at a pretty easy pace, depending on who shows up to ride. Faster ride on Sunday mornings, leaving out from Augusta State U....

TE