Bike coach in Chicagoland, and an intro

[Sheesh]

Hi Janusdog, and welcome to TE! I'm pretty new to all of this, too but my husband has been riding for a while now. When we first started riding together, I felt badly that I was a lot slower than he was, so I always felt like I "ruined" his ride. I don't like to do things that I'm not good at, so I almost just gave up. But, we eventually came to a solution where he rides ahead of me, and we meet at certain points along the way (it helps that we always ride along the lakeshore path) just so he could make sure I was doing okay. This strategy allowed me to ride at my own pace and not worry about what he was thinking, while also challenging me to get better so that we could ride together again.

We still don't ride together, I'm just not nearly as fast as he is, but I can ride much longer and further than I could when I first started. Mr. Sheesh is going to start racing soon, and while I know that I'll probably never be to that level, at least I can have fun doing something that he loves to do.

Remember, it's all about having fun. If you're not enjoying yourself, because you're too worried about looking dumb (and really, let's admit it, we're wearing spandex for goodness sakes!), then it will make it much harder to stick with it. Good luck!

[BeeLady]

Hi,

Can you go to your local bike shop and have them put your bike on a trainer and let you practice clipping and unclipping (15 - 20 minutes?). You can't fall over that way. Also, let them adjust your clips so they are at the least amount of tension so you can easily unclip.

This would also get some other "experts" in the loop so you're not dealing directly with Mr Man. Even if you didn't buy your shoes and clips at LBS they should help you if you buy some other gear there (we can all use some extra socks, a blinkie nite lite, etc.) Plus, you'll need a new bike sooner than you think!

[Janusdog]

When we first started riding together, I felt badly that I was a lot slower than he was, so I always felt like I "ruined" his ride. I don't like to do things that I'm not good at, so I almost just gave up. But, we eventually came to a solution where he rides ahead of me, and we meet at certain points along the way (it helps that we always ride along the lakeshore path) just so he could make sure I was doing okay. This strategy allowed me to ride at my own pace and not worry about what he was thinking, while also challenging me to get better so that we could ride together again.

Are you me? Well, except I hate the Lakeshore path. Even though we rode early, people would be wandering down the path two abreast, letting their dogs loose on it, pushing their strollers on it. It was absolute chaos and, as beautiful as it is, I'll have to avoid that.

Good to know that my instincts to ride alone might be right on. I live in Wicker Park and traffic is nuts except for very early, so I will probably drive up to the North Shore paths and such.

As for everyone else, thanks for the warm welcome! This board is awesome!

[Sheesh]

I've found that the north end and the south end of the path are GREAT, while the middle part sucks. If you can deal with the stupid people for about five miles, the rest of the path is beautiful! If nothing else, ride south to the very end and you'll see so few people that it's completely worth it.

I'm a bit worried about riding in traffic by myself, which is why I stick to the path more often than not. Thought, we have ridden Sheridan north of the city and that's not too bad traffic-wise (I live in Rogers Park so that's not too far away for me).

Good luck figuring out what will work best for you. Just don't give up!