Petrified

[notsportygirl]

Thanks so much for the support. It's made a huge difference. I've found that I actually am getting pissed off when something comes up in the evening to keep me from riding...that's new for me. I'm determined to get in a longer ride this week-end, even if it is "Hot as Hades".

Yes, I think I'll change my login name if I do the 35 miles and I'm not completely hating life while I'm doing it. That would mean I've transformed into "Newlysporty".

(And btw, this forum is keeping me sane during a mind-numbingly boring week of temping, where I have absolutely nothing to do but obsessively learn about cycling and read the news.)

So...I picked up my friend's bike yesterday (my loaner replacement for the vintage Schwinn). She can't tell me much about it, because she never rode it much. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet, because I still have to adjust the seat for me. This is what it is: Dolce Sport, Specialized A1 Max...I think that's what it said on it. It seems blissfully light and bouncy, and the handlebars are really padded. My friend complained that it mushed her girl parts painfully, though, because you have to lean forward so much with a racing bike. That's one of the reasons she never got into riding. I'm hoping I can adjust the seat to avoid too much painful "mushing" up front...right? It does have that ergonomic cut-out seat, but she was talking more about, well, the clitoris area.

What's really intimidating about this bike is that there are no numbers on the gears. There are just tiny little levers that barely come out of the handlebars. Now, I know it's been a long time since I've been on a 10 speed, but didn't they used to have numbers to mark what gear you were shifting to? And why would you get rid of those numbers, making it more mysterious? How am I ever going to learn how to shift this thing? How can you see what gear you're shifting to?

Also, these pedals don't have clips, but they do have the little straps that go around your shoe. Are there any little tricks to managing these?

Obviously, I just need to take this bike out to a safe place and get to know it, but any tips you guys can give me ahead of time would be great. Besides, I won't have anything else to do all day...

Thanks!

[caligurl]

this may be your friend's bike:

http://specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel...v18orij.j27007

as they didn't do a sport for 2005.. i'm assuming it's a 2004...

i ride a 2004 dolce elite... i enjoy it... unfortunately i bought it at supergo so they didn't exactly get me on the right size (i'm pretty sure i needed the next size smaller... in hindsight)

i've ridden a TON of miles on that bike! and i've done a ton of centuries and metric centuries and a lot of climbing! i'm sure, as long as it fits you fairly well.. that you will love it!

you'll learn to shift.. and quite quickly, i'm sure! the only thing i had ridden prior to getting my dolce was a kmart bike that didn't shift for sh.... well.. you know! you'll figure out after a few tries which side does the front rings and which side does the back... and before you know it.. you'll be shifting like a pro!

you don't really need to see which gear you are in... you'll be able to see which on in the front just by looking down.. the rear one.. you can tell when you shift if it got easier or harder.... that's all you really need!

have fun!

[bouncybouncy]

A thread on clipless pedals i thought was very good...

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ighlight=clips

as corsair said...another one hooked!!! we will be looking for your report!

[notsportygirl]

Well, I think I'm riding to Coney Island and back this week-end (which is about 12 miles each way, I think), assuming there aren't too many thunderstorms. I'll let you guys know how I fare...

[notsportygirl]

Thanks so much for recommending that thread. So, the consensus seems to be that those straps are pretty awful (which is what they seemed like to me). Can I possibly just take them off the bike and use the regular pedals without them? Can I do this without hurting the bike? I know that then I'm not using all my muscles to spin, but I'm more concerned with not crashing in traffic right now. And this may seem stupid, but I'm not sure what the whole "clip/clipless" thing is. I'm assuming that the "clip" ones have spikes that clip into special shoes. Are clipless just regular petals, or is there something else? Sorry if that's already on here somewhere...

[Blueberry]

And this may seem stupid, but I'm not sure what the whole "clip/clipless" thing is. I'm assuming that the "clip" ones have spikes that clip into special shoes. Are clipless just regular petals, or is there something else? Sorry if that's already on here somewhere...

This is *not* a stupid question - as many people have told me both inside of my career and in my hobbies - the only stupid question is one you don't ask. I haven't seen anyone here biting yet

This is especially confusing since the pedals seem like they should be named the other way around to me. Clipless means you have a cleat on your shoe that attaches to the pedal (spd, look, speedplay, etc). Clip pedals are what it sounds like you have are the boxes on top of flat pedals. You can usually take those off by removing the straps and undoing a couple of screws. It won't hurt the bike. Do whatever you're comfortable with - I find that since I'm used to clipless pedals I have to have some way of attaching my shoe to the pedal, otherwise it's likely to slip off as I push (and I don't even ride a recumbent). However, I also remember a time when I wasn't comfortable with any foot restraint...

Most of all, get your position on the bike comfortable! You don't want squishing for 35 miles - Ouch!!

Carrrie Annne