How can you tell.....

[schnitzle]

I figure everyone knows I'm new because when they say "On your left" to pass me I oversteer in response and get all "squirrely" XD Also the grip of death on the handlebars!

[zoom-zoom]

I figure everyone knows I'm new because when they say "On your left" to pass me I oversteer in response and get all "squirrely" XD Also the grip of death on the handlebars!

Ha, that was me just a few months ago. The bike-handling comfort comes pretty fast when a person keeps riding on a regular basis. Now I look back and can't believe how un-natural my bike felt at first (I had a really tough time on group rides taking my hands off of the handlebars to signal or take a drink from my water bottle). Now it feels like an extension of me. It's kind of like when I first learned to drive stick. It took all of my concentration and coordination to do it. Now it's just second-nature.

[Crankin]

Well, I guess I must appear to be new... sigh, ten years later.
I don't think I'm squirrelly, but I can barely drink from a water bottle, my (right turn) cornering sucks, and I am a downhill weenie. I know how to do the quick release, though, but I don't want to have to do it. That, or any other mechanical thing. I *know* what to do, but have never been tested on the road. I have serious mechanical anxiety when I ride, although nothing bad has ever happened. Yes, I have taken more than one class and nothing changes. I am fine in the class, but when I practice at home, I end up with my bike in pieces on the ground and a lot of tears. So, then I stop practicing.
I generally hide this very well when I ride. I ride with one group who actually think I am a "strong" rider or a couple of close friends who know they have to wait for me on the downhills.
But, I can climb.