Dismounting

[Geonz]

Practice is the key :-) (For those of us who don't land on our feet and *then* say "how did I do that?")

I also practice 180's and "tight" (extremely wide definition) turns 'cause my anxiety threshold is incredibly earlier than the real turning radius of the bike.

I was practicing in a parking lot (which had a fair number of cars in it, but either residential or office; no activity to speak of) when I was half an hour early for a club ride. I was trying to focus on balance and what was going on around me but just as I went to do my attempted 180, I looked up and hello! there was this truck coming slowly my way... I apologized, and he said, "It's okay, I was watching you." I couldn't tell if he thought I must be a little odd (riding around in circles in a parking lot) or extremely bored, or a fragile soul of some sort... but I figured the world needed more people treating each other as if we were fragile.

I still hate 180's though - I'll put my feet down every time and scoot around, knowing I look utterly dweeby. Ah, well. Dweebdom is my destiny - but I'm a bikin' dweeb. (Still in sneakers, too.)

[KnottedYet]

Live dweeb is better than dead sexy.

[fatbottomedgurl]

Sue, I practice in circles too. I can circle to the left better than the right. I do this because riding downhill on trails I encounter switchbacks where you have to make very tight turns at slow speed. I am getting to where now I can make these switchbacks without unclipping "just in case".

[Geonz]

Aack! Switchbacks! I better get out and practice :-)

I paid attention last night... I park my foot on the left pedal, then butt off the seat and right foot down. When I took Road 1, we talked about the advantages of that side - basically, if you're going to fall, it's going to be away from traffic. However, *everybody* else in the class preferred right-foot-on-the-pedal, left foot down. Sorta like "which side do you breathe on swimming" - and I wonder if, like swimming, it ends up being connected with which side you sleep on...

[DebW]

Live dweeb is better than dead sexy.

Or as a friend of mine is fond of saying "He who chickens today lives to cluck another day." (followed by a series of clucks)