Riding tips for the extremely new and klutzy

[Teddy]

After reading all of your posts and then reading the post on steering with your hips, I was all fired up to go out and try it. I took my mountain bike to the middle school parking lot again, and tried applying what I'd learned here on my bike there. And IT WORKED!!! I tried steering with my hips and it seems so simple that I can't believe I was struggling so hard before. Wow, what an epiphany! I rode around and around the parking lot trying all kinds of different things as my confidence grew. I shifted gears, took one hand off the handlebars, reached for an imaginary water bottle, stood up on the pedals, tried pedaling out of the saddle, made big and little circles, figure eights, last minute changes of direction, holding a line and on and on. I rode for an hour and it was so much fun.

And it's so funny because steering with your hips is very similar to what you do when you ride a horse. I used to ride and compete a lot up until about three years ago so the concept of steering with your hips made total sense to me. Subtly shifting your weight onto and off of your seat bones is foundational to good riding and making that connection to riding a bike made all the difference in the world. Thank you Kalidurga for showing me that link. It was awesome!

And thank you all for the kind words and great advice.

Tomorrow I'm going to go on a real ride...maybe the bike path or ???

Yee Haw!

[Laterider21958]

I learnt to ride a bike when I was about 8 years old. I can remember that the bike I tried to ride first off was too big for me, and I couldn't even sit on the seat and reach the pedals properly, which made it hard to manage. Back then, the bike didn't have gears and I pedalled backwards to brake. (It was way back in the '60's)

I think that you need to lower the seat so that you can touch the ground with both feet while sitting on the seat. Next learn how the brakes work and use them both at the same time - not just the front one. Forget about changing gears until you become more proficient at balancing and maintaining control of your steering. Just have the gears set so you can pedal comfortably, but not too easily (ie spinning furiously). Keep practising and then gradually learn to change gears, and then begin raising the seat as your ability and confidence increase.

Congratulations for taking the plunge, you won't regret it!

[lph]

So cool to hear you're having fun learning to ride a bike, and so fast!

Saddle height: once you get past the feeling that you need to plant both feet on the ground, you'll want to boost your saddle up so you can use your legs more efficiently. I've been told that the correct height is when your leg is straight with your *heel* on the pedal (get someone to hold your bike!) When I do that I get a slightly bent knee with my toe on the pedal. To me it feels better being able to straighten my leg completely once every revolution, so I have my saddle a tad higher.

If you have to twist your hips and "reach" down with your foot it's too high, though.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Tomorrow I'm going to go on a real ride...maybe the bike path or ???

Yee Haw!

Yay Teddy- great going!!!!! You have done a LOT in such a short time!
Now when you go out on a "real" road or path- keep your speed down and under control when going downhill and on curves. Always play it safe and stay in control. Be ready to make emergency stops. You will steadily continue to get more agile on your bike.