New and perplexed

[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]

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!

[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.

[Melalvai]

You're really brave and determined to still be talking about biking after your fall. I'm eager to hear about your next attempt (and of course I hope it goes a lot better).

After what you described of your fall, I would suggest that your next attempt, you ride with your seat low enough you can put your feet on the ground while sitting on the seat. As I mentioned before, that height will be bad for your knees when you start going on longer rides. But for learning, it will help with your stability. When you are comfortable riding, you can start learning the "power pedal" start & stop. (Easy to show, hard to describe. I'll explain better later.)

Said daughter objects strongly to the whole idea, and that is a bit discouraging to me. but is not a deal breaker.

This is kind of funny because it's my mom who worries about me biking. I went on a self supported, 744 mile tour, camping in state parks, solo, 3 years ago. One woman I met said, "Your poor mother!" However, she's come around, especially as I came through the solo tour unscathed and haven't done any more solo tours (yet). She's got a new bike and has been riding it more too.

I hope your daughter feels better when she sees how much you enjoy it, and some day joins you on some bike rides. I've inspired a lot of my family to bike more--not the one person I want to bike more than anyone else, but quite a few others!

[bikegranny]

Thank you, Melalvai. I've read about and others have suggested the "sit on seat and push" method of learning, and that is my plan when my soreness is healed. Wow, very impressive camping bicycle tour! Many years ago I often thought I would like that, but not sure I still want to.

[bikegranny]

The Electra Townie. I'm thinking pink.

[PamNY]

The Electra Townie. I'm thinking pink.

Remember -- you owe us a picture

[bikegranny]

will do!

[murielalex]

I like the pink Townie idea.