Noob and then some

[mimitabby]

Esmerelda, what is your native language? Your english is really good! So don't be shy, tell us about yourself and where you like to ride.


uforgot, you could be right, but what's the point? and then they never post again!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mimi, she didn't mean we really REALLY speaking a foreign languange, only that it SEEMED that way because she doesn't understand all the biking terms we use.

Uforgot, those posts don't strike me as weird at all. In fact, I have women come up to me in town almost daily saying exactly the same stuff to me because they really don't know much about biking yet at all.
It was not that long ago that I had no clue what a hybrid bike or a mountain bike was, or a "top tube", or a crank, or even what the heck derailleurs were!
It's normal, just as it's normal for your butt to be really really sore for your first few rides.

It's OK, everyone. It's ok to not know much yet, and it's OK to ask really newbie biking questions on this forum! Ask away, there is always someone here willing to explain stuff in simple terms. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Lack of knowledge is not an embarrassment, the only embarrassment is when people don't WANT to learn new stuff, or when other people WITH knowledge don't want to help others learn.

[uforgot]

You don't think those posts seem a lot alike? Same tone to them and then we don't hear from them again?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You don't think those posts seem a lot alike? Same tone to them and then we don't hear from them again?

No, it's exactly like a lot of women who come up to me in the street, asking about biking, all sounding similar with identical newbie questions, same tone, I give them my number and encourage them to contact me for more help with getting started, and then I never hear from them again. Sometimes I see them later and they sheepishly say they still haven't dusted off their bike yet. Just the way it is. Some people get suddenly inspired and just as suddenly lose interest. Hopefully many stick with it through the beginner phase and become happy bikers.
The red flag is when they ask ODD questions, often concerning personal subjects. It's often easy to spot immature males masquerading as women- they talk funny when they try to sound like "ladies"!

[uforgot]

I've taught teenagers for 27 years and believe me, you are seriously underestimating their intelligence and creativity. I teach the college bound ones, and those kids I have in AP Calculus could (and WOULD) pull this off. My gut instinct tells me this is bogus, and it has served me well over the years. I've received a couple of PMs from others who agree. Someone even wondered if the ip addresses would turn out the same?!?!?!

Not that I'm horrified by it, I really am slightly amused, but I won't be giving them any heartfelt advice. Maybe we should just see if we ever hear from esmerelda and lunita again.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I've taught teenagers for 27 years and believe me, you are seriously underestimating their intelligence and creativity. I teach the college bound ones, and those kids I have in AP Calculus could (and WOULD) pull this off. My gut instinct tells me this is bogus, and it has served me well over the years. I've received a couple of PMs from others who agree. Someone even wondered if the ip addresses would turn out the same?!?!?!

Not that I'm horrified by it, I really am slightly amused, but I won't be giving them any heartfelt advice. Maybe we should just see if we ever hear from esmerelda and lunita again.

Anyone is allowed to join the forum. Not a problem unless they are obnoxious or offensive in some way. If there is an offensive post or insulting from anyone (regardless of sex), use the little triangle button under your avatar/name to report it to the forum administrators, and they will take care of it. If posts are not offensive, no need to worry about it.

[esmerelda]

Holy cow! I logged in to thank all of you for the helpful information you shared over the weekend. I was taking the time to read the links you supplied as well as do some other sources I found. And yes -- I have been riding.

I wasn't expecting an entire conversation on how flakey newbies are. As you can see I didn't ask for your time and then disappear. We're not all alike and I only posted 3 days ago. This is why I was hestitant to ask questions in the first place. But many of you were welcoming, so I'm just going to let it go.

Sooo... on to the happy stuff. I LOVE my bike. It's a Trek 7500 multitrack. I chose a hybrid because, while I'll be primarily on roads, they're are not always in great shape; and I have 2 sons, so I'll do some rougher trails from time-to-time.

I road Sat and Sun and my saddle is being kind to me so far.

But oh man -- I am in decent shape and have always had strong legs. Or I THOUGHT I had strong legs. That's what's bothering me the most -- leg fatigue. I'm not sore afterward, however. I'm confident that my cadence is good. I have no idea what my RPMs are, but it feels nice and easy. I'm getting the hang of shifting smoothly, frequently and at the appropriate time.

I work from home, so my plan for now is to hop on my bike when I need a break and take a quick 30 min ride. Where I live is very hilly and the roads are busy, so I don't stray too far. On weekends I can take my bike to rail trails, which is where I feel most comfortable right now. I don't like sharing the road with cars. We don't have wide shoulders here.

I have no idea about the techinical questions you asked about my bike! How impt is it to know those things right now?

I also find that I shift my hand position a bit as discomfort sets in. Is that a bad habit? I just picked up a pair of gloves so we'll so how that goes.

How did ya'll start out training? I'd love to hear about your early days! Again, many thanks for the welcome and support. E.

[LadyinWhite]

I've taught teenagers for 27 years and believe me, you are seriously underestimating their intelligence and creativity. I teach the college bound ones, and those kids I have in AP Calculus could (and WOULD) pull this off. My gut instinct tells me this is bogus, and it has served me well over the years. I've received a couple of PMs from others who agree. Someone even wondered if the ip addresses would turn out the same?!?!?!

Not that I'm horrified by it, I really am slightly amused, but I won't be giving them any heartfelt advice. Maybe we should just see if we ever hear from esmerelda and lunita again.

I'm a newbie - only been riding for a year. I'm a newbie to TE, only been posting here for a few months. I know esmerelda personally - hell I'm the one who told her about TE. I was a little embarressed when I talked to her today. I sent her here and she got this snarky response just because she didn't sit poised by her laptop ready to respond to every post?

Hopefully - this experience will keep each of us from jumping to conclusions and posting snarky responses until we have more cause for alarm. All I kept thinking was If I was esmerelda, would I come back to a board who responded like this?

Thank heavens the majority of TE'rs here welcomed her with the same gracious welcome that I've grown accustomed to seeing since I started posting here myself. To each of you I say thank you - truly - for welcoming my dear friend to the world of cycling. I was so proud to say "check out teamestrogen! It's a great site and there is so much super information there!"


T.

ps: I've also been teaching since 1991 - and these kids that you refer to that are so smart - they would know better than to have it track back to the same IP.

[Zen]

Gee, I didn't think anyone was "snarky", probably just a bit jaded and suspicious from being around teenagers too long.

Even if it had been a prank someone would have found the responses helpful.

It's all good.