New and perplexed

[bikegranny]

Ok, I'm scared, sore and discouraged! tried riding my old bike today, after about 10 years. Was barely out of the garage when I fell; thankfully, no injuries..........think my helmet saved my life, it was a faceplant into the paved driveway. Now I'm very very sore, but mostly discouraged, and scared to try again. If I can move tomorrow, will try again. I'm thinking a Day 6 bike. hope to find a dealer to try them out, in Columbus, OH.

thanks for words of encouragement and good advice.

[goldfinch]

Oh ouch!

Do you know why you fell? Does you old bike fit?

You might find it easier to track down the Pure and the Townie for a test ride than the Day 6 but the Day 6 is a mighty cool bike. Depending on your budget one of the best crank forward bike probably is a Rans.

You might also consider a recumbent trike, like a Terratrike Rover. People have a lot of fun with them but recumbent trikes do tend to be pricey as compared to bikes.

I sympathize with being short and fat and finding a bike that fits. I bought my bike when I was short and fat. Riding and more riding helped me drop the weight. But I am still short.

[marni]

welcome to the journey. Remember all you have been through so far. Getting on a bike is nothing. Take time, have patience, enjoy the learning curve and don't let anybody tell you they know better. You can do this!

[OakLeaf]

Aw, sorry that happened to you - hope you feel better soon. They say you don't forget how to ride a bike, but it surely took me a few rides to remember how, after I came back from my long hiatus. I felt VERY wobbly at first on my very stable hybrid bike ... and when I returned to road cycling two years after that, I did have a couple of failure-to-unclip falls. It happens. It will come back.

I don't know a single thing about Northland Cycle - the only Columbus dealer Day 6 lists on their website. I'm about 99% sure that Bike Doctor in Heath doesn't stock them on their floor, but it's not that far of a drive for you if you call and find out that they do have a bike you could test ride. Do try out as many bikes as you can before you make your decision. Don't commit yourself to a particular style of bike before you take your test rides - you may find that what's comfortable for you isn't what you'd assumed.

I think as long as you're staying in and around town, you don't have to worry too much about gearing or climbing geometry. The grades you'll encounter in Franklin County may not be easy for a newly returning rider, but they're plenty doable with some training - they're not the kind of hills people talk about having trouble with a crank forward or recumbent bike.

Welcome to TE and happy shopping!

[bikegranny]

Thanks so much for the kind words, everybody.............you guys are nice! I'm taking today off because my body hurts! had a bit of trouble sleeping, but still think there is no real damage. I have two knee replacements, and one of my knees is very sore, that's my main concern. the Day 6 interests me because I think my feet could reach the ground and thus prevent falls . Looked at the TerraTrike online, don't like it much. The Rans are wonderful, but way out of my price range. That would be my choice, if money grew on trees. and the real problem with me is I'm terrified to get back on the bike. The old bike does not fit, I didn't know anything about fit when I bought it. So today is a resting and thinking day, by the weekend I will be ready to test bikes.

[PamNY]

Yikes! Sorry you had a fall. But that does happen. When I first returned to cycling, I had several inglorious moments -- once running into a large, highly visible concrete bench while I was going very slowly. I'm impressed that you are eager to continue cycling despite a brief setback. As someone said upthread, you've got spunk and that will take you a long way.

Yyou are wise to rest for a day or two and be careful of your knees. I hope you get a chance to try the Day 6 as soon as you are feeling better. Let us know how it goes.

[bikegranny]

Guess what, guys!!! I just heard about a thing called bike stabilizers for grown ups! Tell me the truth: would I be a total loser wash-out hopeless sissy if I used those just for a little while? just for a few rides until I have a bit of confidence back? have any of you heard of them or used them at all? it looks very appealing to me, in my fear and hesitancy, yet with a strong desire to ride. If I used them, I could get a "normal" bike like I really want, instead of the crank forward type. maybe. Would like to hear your thoughts, kind and fearless women.

[bikegranny]

Thanks, NY, I just called a bike shop in Columbus and they do have Day 6 bikes in stock, so I will go try it on Monday, when i have a free day. and time to shop for other bikes also. excited!

[bikegranny]

Thanks, Oakleaf, I called northland cycle this morn, and they do have one Day 6 bike in the shop to test ride. so I will do that Monday, when I have a free day.

[Bike Writer]

Ok, I'm scared, sore and discouraged! tried riding my old bike today, after about 10 years. Was barely out of the garage when I fell; thankfully, no injuries..........think my helmet saved my life, it was a faceplant into the paved driveway. Now I'm very very sore, but mostly discouraged, and scared to try again. If I can move tomorrow, will try again. I'm thinking a Day 6 bike. hope to find a dealer to try them out, in Columbus, OH.

thanks for words of encouragement and good advice.

Oh my goodness Ow ow ow! I can certainly understand why you would be scared and discouraged. Hope you feel better soon, from the sounds of it you avoided breaking anything but took a big blow to your confidence. Been there. When I re-took up biking again a couple of years ago I'd been through a period of inactivity for a few years. Prior to that I was pretty athletic and strong with good balance. It's amazing what a few years of inactivity can do to a person, fortunately all of that can be reversed with persistance and work. Speaking from one who was in your exact spot not long ago I can empathize with the fear and discourgament. I fell a lot the first few months. I'd bought a craigslist bike and the person was taller than me, I made some adjustments and it helped. Since this was your bike before it probably fits you and is set up for your height so I'm guessing that the fall was a result of lack of strength, balance and confidence with handling skills. Often I had no idea why I fell, I just did. I came to realize it was lack of skills coupled with too much bravado. I should have spent more time practicing before I ventured out into challenging situations. Oh well.

You said you are scared but you also said if it dosen't hurt too much you'll try again - you've got spunk! Working on some core body strengthening will help you gain confidence because you'll be better able to handle your bike.

Feel better soon and best of luck.

[Sylvia]

Ok, I'm scared, sore and discouraged! tried riding my old bike today, after about 10 years. Was barely out of the garage when I fell; thankfully, no injuries..........think my helmet saved my life, it was a faceplant into the paved driveway. Now I'm very very sore, but mostly discouraged, and scared to try again. If I can move tomorrow, will try again. I'm thinking a Day 6 bike. hope to find a dealer to try them out, in Columbus, OH.

thanks for words of encouragement and good advice.

BikeGranny,

I'm coming into this thread a bit late, but I noticed that you said you had taken a spill when barely out of your garage. Were you trying to get on the bike when this occurred? Was the problem with balancing the bike while trying to get both feet on the pedals, by any chance? Do you think the problem might be one of flexibility or is it more balance?

Here's why I ask, I'm a disabled cyclist. I used to bicycle all the time as a kid, but got back into cycling a few years ago after not having ridden in about 30 years. The problem I had when I was reacquainting myself with getting on a bike and riding was the crankarms were too long, and I didn't have the flexibility to easily get both feet on the pedals when starting the bike. So the problem for me wasn't balance. If this sounds like it might be similar to what you are experiencing, I found the solution for me was to get shorter crankarms and a laidback seatpost. If you click on the link labeled "Gary Fisher beater bike" in my signature, you will see a writeup and some pictures of some of the things I did to my bike initially to figure out what I would need.

BTW, getting the bike stabilizer isn't necessarily a bad idea if it helps.

[bikegranny]

Sylvia, that is a very impressive bike! did you make the seat post or find one to buy like that? Hooray for you for figuring out what you needed and making it happen. How is the riding for you now?? My problem was..............I pushed off with my arm from the garage door frame. the push was not enough momentum to get me going, as I do not have the strenth in my arms that I had a few years ago. did not start pedaling quick enough, and down I went. I would love a small, 20" bike and think that would solve most of my problems, but am too big around for my height. And now I have this consuming fear that I will fall again and don't know if I can get back on a bike. But have to wait to heal up before I even try it; still have quite a bit of pain in my ribs. The Electra Townie is my solution, and will go back and ride one when the ribs feel better; I can ride it and still reach the ground, so that makes me feel safer. Thanks for posting, and I love the beater bike, and the site it's posted on. Do let me know how things are going for you.

[Sylvia]

Bikegranny,

The seatpost is an old school bmx laid back seatpost. You can find seatposts similar to this on ebay which is where I picked mine up.
I still ride and find it is a great way for me to get exercise since I can't run or walk long distances. I recently did a charity ride in October with some friends and had a blast!!

Sorry to hear about your ribs, but I'm glad you have found a bike that will work for you.

[Sylvia]

Georgena did this for you? Really? That's very cool.

I originally, contacted Georgena thinking I would need a custom built bike. I'm pretty short and have a 25" inseam so I had contacted her about possibilities. After we discussed it a bit, I decided I needed to do a bit more research on what I would need and just find a bike that I could ride. So that's how the beater bike came to be. Georgena had asked that I keep her updated, so when I checked back in with her, she found what I was doing interesting and asked if she could write it up. I was of course floored that she took such an interest. We have become pretty good friends since. She really is very down to earth and personally I think she is great!