Steering with your Hips

[Crankin]

You are right, Velo. It's me. I've been riding a road bike about 5 years; I did my first year on a mtb with slicks. I am very comfortable doing things the wrong way! I know it's wrong, but I am still getting over a life of being uncoordinated, although in my recent, adult life I have been very athletic. I do have documented horrible depth perception, but if i learned to drive, I can do this. Fear is also a big part. Right now I am often stuck riding with people slower than me because although I would definitely say I'm an intermediate rider, my average speed would be a lot faster if i was descending faster. I can climb and I can maintain 16-18 on flats, which may not be a lot to racers, but I am just a fit old lady trying to stay fit. I don't want to be a fraidy newbie forever, but I know with each passing year (I'm about to turn 53) it will get harder. I only wish I had started riding sooner.

You might be right about the core thing. Generally, that has been a strength, but I have let all that lapse during the riding season, i.e. no Pilates, sit ups, weights. I am trying to get back now.
Thanks for the advice.

[DebW]

You are right, Velo. It's me. I've been riding a road bike about 5 years; I did my first year on a mtb with slicks. I am very comfortable doing things the wrong way! I know it's wrong, but I am still getting over a life of being uncoordinated, although in my recent, adult life I have been very athletic. I do have documented horrible depth perception, but if i learned to drive, I can do this. Fear is also a big part.

You might be right about the core thing. Generally, that has been a strength, but I have let all that lapse during the riding season, i.e. no Pilates, sit ups, weights. I am trying to get back now.

Robyn, a few suggestions for getting used to the drops. I've noticed that when I switch from hoods to drops or vice versa, my upper body remains motionless and only my arms move. That's because my elbows are generally quite bent when riding on the hoods, or they bend more before I move to the drops. If you ride with almost straight arms, try bending your arms more on the hoods until your body is comfortable in the position it would be if in the drops. Your body should ride comfortably without much weight on your arms - the balance should be between your butt and your feet. If you don't feel that balance, maybe your saddle needs to move further behind your pedals. You can practice on a trainer over the winter, riding a highish gear and unweighting your arms, using your core muscles and legs to balance your upper body. You could also practice a tucked coasting position on the trainer for a minute or two at a time - hands in drops, crank horizontal, upper body very low, elbows in, chin near the bars, weight mostly on feet and hands and shifted a bit forward.