Help! My rear end is glued to the seat!

[meridian]

I agree, just fall and get it over with already! It truly is worse on the ego than it is on the body.

But to get your butt off the seat and get a feel for it, have you thought about going to the park or an empty lot with your regular shoes (or one regular shoe and one cycling shoe) on to just play around and see if getting that butt out of the seat is easier? That way, you take clipping in/out out of the equation and maybe your worry off falling will lessen also since you wouldn't be completely attached to your bike.

I say, just make yourself do it once, and if you fall, the worst is over and you'll be able to tackle each attempt easier after that.

[JLZimrmn]

Whenever I come to a stop I just unclip my left foot and wat until I stop to unclip the right foot. Then I throw my right foot over the bike. It really is not good for your bike to unclip and put all of you weight on the pedal to get off of the bike.

As far as standing up. That took me quite a while of practice. I practiced a lot on my MTB before I got my road bike. I rarely standup on my bike but if I have to gain speed I can.

[Starfish]

Sara, something that has increased my confidence and strength for standing up on climbs is going to indoor spinning classes.

Now, in many ways, standing up on a spin bike and on a real bike outdoors bear no resemblance. However, doing some really hard spinning workouts with LOTS of out of the saddle time has increased an aspect of my leg strength that is different than seated hard work has.

I am noticing that although outdoor standing climbing is still something I need to work on, especially for coordination, changing gears while standing, etc, I am much more able to handle the wobbles and errors in gearing because my legs and upper body are much more used to it.

Good luck!

[Geonz]

took the words out of my mouth... get on a trainer where it *doesn't matter*... and practice that motor skill of getting off the seat. You want to do an end run around the ol' brain :-)

[DarcyInOregon]

Another way to look at it is there is not really a "right" way and a "wrong" way for you to pedal your bike. Do what works best for you. Remember that lots of the ladies on TE are racers or long-distance fitness cyclists, and the way they pedal is to enhance their abilities to achieve their goals.

When I bike with Suzie and Ellen, the three of us don't bike in the same way at all. Suzie goes at a fast cadence in a lower gear. I go at a medium cadence in a higher gear. Ellen pedals in the highest gear she can. Suzie stands going up the hills. Ellen power strokes up the hills. I hold back on the hills so I don't burn out my blood sugar and everybody and their grandma passes me, then I catch them on the downhill (hopefully.)

When we come towards a stop, Suzie unclips one foot and completely stops. Ellen peers quickly to the left and right and darts across the road. I slow down, shift down, then mostly teeter on the bike without unclipping, waiting for the traffic to clear to procede ahead without really stopping. If I have to stop, I unclip both feet and force myself to take the seconds to drink and whatnot with both feet planted on the pavement, then I clip my right foot back in and get ready to go again.

You got good advice. Let yourself fall sometime, and you fill find out it isn't a big deal.

Darcy

[RolliePollie]

You got good advice. Let yourself fall sometime, and you fill find out it isn't a big deal.

But I have fallen (several times now)

Thanks everyone, for the great advice. I need to force myself to be brave and try. I'm also glad to hear about other people's stopping styles. I guess when you need to stop, the ultimate goal is to stop and get off the bike, and at least I'm doing that. It just seems like everyone I've seen is able to stop and dismount gracefully, and then there's little old me looking like a big dork!

My nemesis hill would be a good place to practice both of these skills because if I can't stand up and pedal, then I can't get up the hill, which basically means I have to stop! Hmmm, tomorrow night then...I have a date with my nemesis hill. Good thing it's right by my house in case I need to bandage myself up afterwards.

I also think I'm letting myself get more worked up and freaked out about this than I should. If I succeed in un-gluing my butt, I'll let y'all know!

And if I fall, I'll let you know that too

[Kano]

Sara,

I have a sticky butt too, but I have found that I CAN stand as I get started from a stop, if I just don't plant it on the saddle too quickly! I get a little extra power, which feels good to me as I take off at a light, for example, where I want to get out of the way of bigger, faster, heavier vehicles, and it's also good practice, eh?

On hills, DH told me one day "hey, those other riders get off their seats when they go up, maybe you could too?" I said, yeah, maybe some day...

So far, as a new roadie, I am happy to stand while coasting, and as I get started from stops. I'm looking forward to being strong enough to pick up my butt when climbing at some point, but for now, I'm happy with just getting up the hill any which way I can, y'know?

I started climbing hills by using the "biggest" gear I could til I couldn't anymore, and gearing down and down and down. I was NOT getting up the hills, but I was sure I had to start with the harder gears, cuz what was I going to do if I ran out? My heart rate got out of control, my breathing got out of control, and my legs would give out. So, the trick I've used to get up the hills so far that may help you with your nemesis: before even starting up the hill, I gear down to the granniest of grannies, keep my heels down, and don't look at the top. I found my "recipe" by accident one day when I was struggling and riding in the granny gears just cuz my muscles were tight, it surprised the bejeezus out of me and worked that day, it's still working for me, and maybe some day I'll be pretty good at it and be able to try a bit harder gear! (I probably need one of those to stand at all, at least that's how the pedaling feels to me)

Karen in Boise

[Zen]

Maybe try it just a little bit at a time.

I don't mean stand all the way up for brief periods but next time you're going up Nemesis Hill get down in the drops, move your weight forward a bit, lift your butt just an inch or two off the seat,and pull up on the grips.

I'm the worst when it comes to handling skills. If I can do it so can you.