Questions from an overweight beginner

[Grasshopper]

I'm so sorry you got hurt!! I've been wondering about you. Are you back on the road now? How are your injuries.

I had one of those too big for me bikes too. Road it one weekend and my dad got tired of running beside me. He let me think I broke it when the tires went flat from lack of use. Didn't hurt me too much to think that either. I hated the thing! I liked it later - when it fit me better.

Hope you're feeling all patched up by now!

[Bianchi Babe]

Dear Veronica and Lizzy:

I'm feeling much better thank you and rode the last two days. Thank you for explaining what slicks are and for telling me that my tires will slide out more on wet asphalt. I will be careful if I encounter that. I don't think I want to ride in the rain at this point in my cycling career but with all the sprinklers going it's more than likely I'll be riding on wet asphalt sooner or later. No, my injuries weren't to bad, just painful enough to prevent riding especially since they were in the posterior portion of my body. But I'm all healed up now and trying to ride as often as I can. I've lost some of what I had gained but my time has improved so perhaps I didn't lose to much.

[Bianchi Babe]

Dear Grasshopper:

I didn't see your email at first. I'm sorry. That's pretty funny your dad telling you, you broke the bike! I hope you didn't feel badly when you thought that. My dad kept encouraging me to get back on so I did and pretty soon I was riding that big bike all over. I can remember when I was 12-15 we had moved north and all the adults who saw me riding my bike, which I did a lot back then, would laugh at me and say that thing is bigger than you are! But you know I think it really helped me to learn the basic skills because by the time I was 12 I could handle that bike, despite its size, very well. When I first got on my Bianchi my husband said I had really good cadence and he asked if I was purposely doing it. I said, I don't even know what that word means as I've never heard it before. I'm just riding the way I ride. So I think that had it not been for such a challenging bike when I was growing up that I would be finding things even harder than I do now. But I do remember it didn't all come together at once and I need to remember that. How are your rides doing? Do you use a mirror on your helmet? I have been thinking of getting one but I think I would like input about them from people who have used them before I buy one.

[missliz]

Sweetie, I did not say that your tires would slide out on wet road. I said they might be more likely to. It depends on the tread pattern, how much water is on the pavement, if you're fast enough to hydroplane, several factors. Tires for all types of bikes range from giant knobs for deep mud riding to totally bald slicks for pavement. There are many variations in between. I have no clue what's on your bike- but a hybrid with stock knobbies is unusual and I logically assumed you had wide tires (about 1"?) with a fairly smooth tread pattern. When you started talking knobs on your tires I wanted to set the matter straight, but you need to snag your husbands Performance catologue or go to a shop and find out what the deal is.
And spinklers don't count as wet pavement. Wait 'till winter and you'll see what wet is. That's what I'm talkin 'bout.

Lizzy

[hibiscus09]

LOL Lizzy -- I read about how much slicker the tires get when the pavement is wet & how the road is slicker initially as the oil rises than it is later in a rain. Well, so far when the neighbors are running the sprinklers, I've been dodging the wet spots on the road, thinking I'll go sliding all over the place. Hopefully, a year from now, I won't be sucy a cycling goober.

[Bianchi Babe]

Dear Lizzy:

You know a lot more about tires than I do. To me an inch wide doesn't seem so wide because the mountain bike tires sold around here are two-three times that wide. My tires are an inch wide with a raised pattern of zig zags. It has a zig zag, indention, zig zag. The raised zig zag is opposite of indentions. Two lines of raised zig zags opposite smooth flat indentions. The raised zig zag is smooth like the flat indentions but because the zig zag is raised next to the flat indentions it gives the tires a knobby looking appearance. Its actually kind of a pretty pattern if you look at it but who looks that hard at tires. You probably don't get a very good idea of what it looks like from my description but since you were right about the width you probably have a better idea of what the tire is like than I do. I actually thought my tires were less than an inch wide because they seemed so narrow compared to the standard mountain bikes. Yet they are wider than my husband's which suited me fine because this is the first time I've ridden on such narrow tires. Okay maybe an inch isn't narrow but if you've only ridden tires that are much wider an inch it seems narrow. Its all a matter of perspective I guess. I'm pretty sure we don't have any performance catalogs around. Are they catalogs that sell bike parts? I live in a place where cycling is really popular yet I've noticed that the local bike shops really don't have much in a variety of saddles,clothing, camelbaks, water bottles, different bike parts ect. The local REI has more cycling apparel and camelbaks than the bike shops do and since REI caters to all sports I find that surprising. If you hydroplane on a bike do you lose control? I hydroplaned in a car once and felt as though I didn't have any control while hydroplaning. On second thought I can see that your right and that wintry wet conditions would be a lot different than just riding through pavement wet from sprinklers. But I think I will still approach any wet places cautiously.

[Dogmama]

I don't know if this would be appropriate for you - but if/when you decide to go with skinnier tires - I just got some Continental grand prix 4 season tires & they're great! I've rode on Conti's for the last ten years, so I'm a little partial to them - but these are great for sand, mud rain, etc.

One thing about wet - know that when you go through a wet spot, your tires will pick up glass & other crap that might be in the bike lane & hang onto it a little longer. So, if you have to go through water, try to avoid that lovely pile of windshield that the EMT's so kindly swept into the bike lane!

[Bianchi Babe]

Dear Dogmama:

That is a valuable tip. Thanks for letting me know. Sometimes knowing what to watch out for seems so elementary but when your starting out it isn't. Especially when your learning so much stuff! I'll keep those tires in mind for when I'm ready to switch. Just out of curiosity do you have dogs? Just wondering as several years ago I bought a t-shirt that says dogmama on it. I have two dogs, no children, so it seemed appropriate for me.

[Dogmama]

Elementary, but not easy! I recently flatted because I ran through water & then some glass - but the traffic was so bad I had no choice. Then it rained. I felt like the cartoon character Ziggy.

Yes, I am a dog mama. No kids. Dogs are better. They don't ask to ride your bike!

[Bianchi Babe]

Dear Dogmama:

Sorry to hear about your flat. I was in a similar situation this weekend minus the water and I was convinced that I would end up with a flat. But I was very lucky, my husband got the flat. Although not wet, traffic was such that we had no choice but to go through the broken glass same as you.

I felt incredibly lucky on this trip though because I made it up some hills, one of which was very very steep. Actually it was a drive way into a winery tasting room but it was very steep and longer than average. I ran into an unforeseen problem coming down. I was trying to feather my brakes not realizing that the hill was to steep to feather and I kept gaining momentum until I was up to my husband who wasn't giving me any room to pass him up by so I stayed to his right. But I didn't see the warning sign about a large foot high curb like bump. My husband screamed at me, Watch out for the bump! But by the time he yelled I was already hitting that bump at a really good clip. I didn't have time to stand up out of my seat so I hit that bump with tremendous force expecting my bike to be damaged. My husband expected me to crash, especially since my bike and I went flying up into the air. It felt like a foot but my husband said it was only six inches. I don't know how I managed to stay on, especially with one foot jarred off the pedal, but I did and when I hit the ground I was able to regain control immediately. Can't say I liked the feeling much but I was gratified that I stayed on was able to regain control as soon as I hit the ground. Checked my bike immediately for damages but there weren't any. Not even bent tire rims! But a good endorsement for me to keep to my bigger tires until I get better.

[annie]

Originally posted by Bianchi Babe
I don't know how I managed to stay on, especially with one foot jarred off the pedal, but I did and when I hit the ground I was able to regain control immediately. Can't say I liked the feeling much but I was gratified that I stayed on was able to regain control as soon as I hit the ground. Checked my bike immediately for damages but there weren't any. Not even bent tire rims! But a good endorsement for me to keep to my bigger tires until I get better. [/B]

I don't know how you stayed on! Good riding! I would say you acted purely on instinct and did just the right things to stay upright. You must be a natural at this. And I bet you also learned to not get ahead of yourself on a downhill. You want to feel like you are in control of the bike, not the bike running away from you. Then you won't need those bigger tires at all.

[Bianchi Babe]

Dear Annie:

You are so right. I'm a little scared to ride down another large steep hill but I suppose I am going to have to do it so I can learn how to be in control of the bike speeding down hill instead of the other way around. I'm fine with gradual hills but this one was pretty much straight up. In fact if it had been any larger I wouldn't have made it to the top.

[momcat]

This is a great thread with lots of encouragment. I try to be sure that I have plenty of water with me, money for a convenience store and a note pad and pencil. My husband rides a lot more than I and on really busy highways, so I mostly just have rides around on local, less busy roads. (In Arkansas, we have a bunch of narrow roads.) I made the move to toe clips a couple of years ago and like how they position my feet in a different place to pedal more efficiently. i am trying to get some of my friends to ride with me, and none of them will, since I ride a lot of miles.

[Bianchi Babe]

Hi Momcat:

How many miles do you ride? You must be in pretty good shape if your doing a lot of miles and have been riding for a couple of years.

[momcat]

Hi Bianchi Babe!

My normal ride is 6 miles on weekdays and 10-15 on weekends. When I start telling friends that I need to ride 10-15 miles, they get freaked. I would ride to work, except I drive my child to school!