How can you tell.....

[shootingstar]

Ummmmmmmm..you should all go to Copenhagen.

and see the variety of cyclists there. And I bet alot of them are regular cyclists. Quite a number of women who hopped awkwardly off and on their bikes yet once they were on bike, they were rolling calmly away, unflapped.

Obviously their bikes didn't fit them perfectly. And some of them rocked from side and side on their bikes. It hurts my hips just to see other people do this.

[huffandpuff]

Crankin I'm the same way on downhills and cornering. My brakes get quite a workout but seeing some of those crashes during the Tour De France reinforced it for me - I just don't want to get hurt on my bike! Sure sign of new is when they're mashing the living daylights out of those pedals on a little tiny upgrade - I did that for a long, long time

[BikeHN]

What is riding in the 'door zone'?

[chicagogal]

Riding in the door zone means riding in the street so close to parked cars that if someone opens a door without looking that the cyclist is likely to either be hit by the door or to ride right into the inside of the open door. This is often a very serious accident.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

What is riding in the 'door zone'?

http://www.riinsrants.info/bikes/doorzone.htm

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=...2cf0ed195d636d

[XMcShiftersonX]

Obviously their bikes didn't fit them perfectly. And some of them rocked from side and side on their bikes. It hurts my hips just to see other people do this.

I don't understand how people can ride like this either!! If you think it hurts their hips, imagine what their girly/boy bits must be feeling like! I saw someone towards the end of the Flying Wheels Century in June riding like this... how you ride 100 miles, and climb 4,000 feet with a bike that is that poorly sized, is beyond me. But, hey, it gave me and my riding partner a good distraction!

[przc]

I would say the one thing that tells me (because i used to be guilty of this ).
Looking behind you while riding and the bike goes towards the middle of the road or the curb!!! LOL

[Owlie]

There's a road around here that practically forces slower (read: bicycle) traffic into the door zone because while it's two-lane, people park in the right lane all the time, so if there's significant car traffic, you're riding in the door zone. :| I just ride with one hand on the brakes and get into the left lane as soon as possible, then back to the right once the "no parking" zone starts.

I can't grab a drink from my bottle while riding either. A proper fitting is in order once I find a bike shop here that will do it. BF's mom can't and she's been riding for years.

[marni]

I would say the one thing that tells me (because i used to be guilty of this ).
Looking behind you while riding and the bike goes towards the middle of the road or the curb!!! LOL

little tricks I have learned-
move you right hand towards the center of the handlebar
put most of your weight on the right arm without locking the elbow
bend you left elbow slightly and look back, twisting your upper body as little as possible.

marni

[lauraelmore1033]

I find myself wondering if someone is a newbie if they have a high dollar bike, nicely outfitted with a wealth of gadgets and goodies, expensive kit, and they're walking up a no biggie hill (ie. a hill I was able to make it up without dismounting when I was a newbie).

Also, helmetless on the wrong side of the road just reeks of newbiedom...

[zoom-zoom]

Also, helmetless on the wrong side of the road just reeks of newbiedom...

I think it reeks more of stupid and natural selection at work, than anything.

[jessmarimba]

Also, helmetless on the wrong side of the road just reeks of newbiedom...

Where I was from, that reeked of a poor public transportation system Especially because it was usually helmetless, wrong side of an eight lane highway wearing dark clothing.

It's sort of sad that many of those who bike because they have to (rather than want to) are the ones who know the least about what they're doing. And interestingly - at least where I used to live - were far more likely to get ignored rather than screamed at by passing motorists.

[trista]

I don't think a helmet is something that comes with experience. I think it's a cultural thing. In the cycling-as-a-sport/hobby culture you see a lot more helmets than in the cycling-as-transportation culture. I rode my bike daily to and from college for 4 years and never even owned a helmet, and never saw one on a fellow student on a bike. I lived in Europe for years and don't recall seeing a helmet on the heads of the many cyclists you see everywhere, going to and from the market or whatnot. I see Latinos here in Indy riding to and from work (I assume, since they are wearing uniforms) without helmets... I doubt that they are new to their bike, they just don't wear helmets.

[PamNY]

I've seen a lot of people drink from their water bottle when they shouldn't. The question should be not "can you drink" but "can you drink and still bike safely."

[Biciclista]

In Italy i saw lots of people riding on flat tires too. doesn't necessarily mean they are new riders, just with bad access to a tire pump..

I know someone is new when they are riding a decent bike but stop short in the middle of a big group ride on a hill... (that's when we rode over them!)