"Look Ma, no hands!"

[Zen]

Look ma - one hand!
Look ma - no hands!
Look ma - no teeth!

Good point!
I may not be able to ride my road bike with no hands, but I've spent a LOT of money on dental work in the past year and my teeth look great.

I choose teeth

[Tuckervill]

I think that's kind of like saying "I choose not to get hit by a car, so I don't ride."

Risk vs. benefit. It's worth the risk to me to readjust my gloves, sit up and stretch my back, open my water bottle, etc., with no hands, based on my knowledge of my ability to do so.

Karen

[Zen]

Risk= $4000.00 in dental work

Benefit = much less.

[Tuckervill]

Risk= $4000.00 in dental work

Benefit = much less.

The point is, your dental work is at risk just by being on the bike at all.

Karen

[Lise]

I love to sit up on a quiet stretch of street or path and cruise along no-handed. I've always done so, on every bike I can remember. It's tougher when I have panniers, but it just takes a bit more attention to balancing with my hips. It's a nice, restful feeling for me. I usually do it when riding home from work (or wherever), and I turn off the busy street onto my quiet street, sit up, look around, and slowly pedal that last two blocks. Nothing flashy or speedy. Just being happy on the bike.

[Zen]

The point is, your dental work is at risk just by being on the bike at all.

Karen

But much more so if I ride the bike WITH NO HANDS.
I'm not in that much of a hurry to get anywhere.
If i need to scratch, adjust, drink or whatever, i'll stop.

You take your risks, I'll take mine.

[Tuckervill]

You take your risks, I'll take mine.

Then we agree!

Karen

[michelem]

My DH is the king of riding no hands. Last week on our tour was his first time ever riding a road bike (Bianchi Via Nirone 7)m he's always ridden a mountain bike or a bmx (as a kid). He took video from the bike, picked flowers from the side of the road while riding, etc. Scared me to death, but barely a wobble came from his bike. Me, I've never been able to ride no-handed. Not on my clunky wide-tired mountain bike, not on the many test-ride road bikes I've tried out, and certainly not on the Bianchi Dama She I rode on our tour last week. Toward the end of the week I got so I could ride one-handed though (using one hand to flip the map or wipe my nose). I still haven't mastered getting to my water bottle while on the bike though and also have trouble making turn signals. DH says he gained a lot of skills as a child when he had a paper route. He says, "Try cycling with 50 pounds of newspapers and having to throw them from the moving bike." I guess that would do it! I spied him doing that "smugness" move a few times as well, but I don't think he was being smug at all. He says it was because he was getting pain/soreness from the bent over position and this was his way of stretching out without having to get off the bike.