Mentoring newbies

[Owlie]

I stand for a little extra oomph on really short, steep stuff. If it's an actual hill, I'm not getting up it on the bike if I have to stand. And I can get a water bottle out of the cage while riding. I just can't get it back in.

Crankin, that's kind of scary.

[nuliajuk]

Instability while out of the saddle is usually due to being either too far forward, too high up (legs too straight), or both. Most bikes have a balance point that usually falls about 10-12" in front of the saddle, so that's what the hips should be lined up above. Crouching a bit lower so that the leg at the bottom of the pedal stroke is a little bit bent also helps with balance. It is harder on the legs than being in the saddle, which is why it's usually only done on very short steep snorts. And of course, it helps to have a bit of grip on the pedal so that it can be brought back and up at the same time the other pedal is being brought forward and down. Just pushing down on the pedals tends to make the bike weave from side to side.

Last Monday we all went to a nearby school playground and had people practice the various things they wanted to work on. I didn't get to work with the one that wanted help with gearing and getting out of the saddle, my charge was a woman who hadn't ridden for a number of years and could only get stopped or started with one leg on a curb. So I had her get one crank horizontal, step down on it, and coast just standing on that pedal for a short way. After a few coasts, she was able to bring the other leg up to the top of the other crank and start pedalling and getting onto the saddle. Then she worked on doing it in reverse to get off again. She did well until we all got back on the road to go back, which is normal when learning a new skill, the old way of doing things kicks in automatically until the new skill is cemented into place in long term memory.

The new rider is doing really well, in the week since she got a bike she's already learned to ride. A bit wobbly, but she can pedal it and stop and start.

[Crankin]

Owlie, what's kind of scary? The fact that I'm not that coordinated, or the woman who couldn't shift? THAT was scary; my lack of coordination, not so much. I push my limits regularly and I'm actually better from riding, despite my advancing age!

[lph]

Good work, Nuliajuk. I like that you have a sense of the longterm learning process, and that it takes time for a new habit to overlay an old one. I took my drivers licence not that many years ago, and my poor instructor was quietly pullling his hair out at how he'd teach me something, I'd focus on practicing it, but the next time I had to do it in a hurry the new skill would go out the window. It was pretty obvious too that 38-year olds learn slower than 18-year olds... :-D

I just read "Born to Run" (fantastic book! enough to make anyone want to buy a pair of huaraches and hit the trails) and there was something there about trying to run barefoot "if it feels easy you're doing it wrong", ie. if you're actually trying to make a relevant change to a entrenched habit it will and should feel clunky and clumsy at first.

[Owlie]

Owlie, what's kind of scary? The fact that I'm not that coordinated, or the woman who couldn't shift? THAT was scary; my lack of coordination, not so much. I push my limits regularly and I'm actually better from riding, despite my advancing age!

Not your lack of coordination, the woman who couldn't shift. I'm not exactly coordinated either! I do better on wheels than I do just walking around, though.

[Crankin]

So, I saw the woman who couldn't shift on Saturday. She came on our ride, but was with the slower group. She thanked me profusely for my patience and said she had been practicing like crazy since May. When I saw her at the lunch stop, she was happy as a clam.

[Melalvai]

Aw, that's sweet. I'm glad she's doing well.