Look Ma, no hands...I wish...

[MommyBird]

I have some of those same CB bottles. We use them for hiking and my boys will take them rowing. We each have two in our family color code system. Hubby is green, Drew is blue, Nick is orange and I, of course, am pink.
Ours are too big for the bikes but we like them a lot for other applications.

There are some good alternatives for standard frame bottle cages out there. You can get a one or two bottle system that attaches to your seat. That homemade hook system sounds a bit scary to me. No picture and a minimal description leaves a lot to the imagination.

My bike is a 54 so there is plenty of room for two cages and extraction.

[Selkie]

I told my husband about starting this thread and he got a kick out of it.

On today's ride he was a big show off. After eating a gooey energy bar he proceeded to wave his arms like an orangutan and then pat his head and rub his tummy. Later on he crossed his arms and sang a song from Aladdin. He executed a tight, middle of the road, one handed, full circle turn while drinking from a gel flask. He was taunting me with his superior balance. Is this normal?
.

It wouldn't be normal in my marriage for my husband to taunt me like that but each to his/her own.

If he keeps that up, he'll take a spill, which will be what he deserves.

I'm with Mimi on this one. Safety first. I don't care about being able to pull a bottle out of the cage and drink when I'm riding. I do have good balance and am an experienced rider; however, I am not inclined to tempt the fates. Having broken my clav and elbow in non-cycling athletic accidents, I'm content stopping to take a swig should I need one.

[MommyBird]

It wouldn't be normal in my marriage for my husband to taunt me like that but each to his/her own.

If he keeps that up, he'll take a spill, which will be what he deserves.

Yeow...
I hope he never changes, he makes me laugh.

He is a huge risk taker but he has incredible control and agility. He broke his first bone at 46 years of age and it took an 80 foot flight on a motocross bike to do it.
My younger son has the same talent. I have to close my eyes and pray when he gets the notion to do some crazy stunt. Which is often.
My older son is not so lucky. He is more cautious in his actions but he is the one who gets hurt. He spent two months in a body cast with a broken femur at age 4 from a bike accident and broke 3 metatarsal on a motocross bike in his early teens.
Me, I avoid falling, I have nightmares about falling, I am a huge chicken.

[OakLeaf]

I don't care about being able to pull a bottle out of the cage and drink when I'm riding.

But you need to be able to take a hand off the bars and signal that you're stopping or slowing or turning, or signal obstacles to other riders. Sometimes you need to be able to signal stopping/slowing very quickly in an emergency situation. And you need to do it with your right hand on the brake, not in the center of the bars.

Being able to do a slalom course with no hands isn't a specific skill you'll ever need, but being able to handle your bike when you're bumped by another rider or a vehicle, or if something/someone runs out in front of you suddenly, those are skills that can save your life, and balance drills are how you get there.

[Crankin]

Oy, I tried some of the stuff on the ball. I can't do any of it. Well, I can lay prone over the ball and balance with one hand out and the opposite leg out, for about 3 seconds. Kneeling on the ball? I don't see how I could ever do this.
I know I have horrible balance, always have; it's not a function of age. I never thought I had a weak core, as I can do lots of crunch type stuff on the ball, but nothing with balance in any position, with or without the ball.
It's amazing I can even ride, when I think of it. I didn't learn until I was 10 and I remember one time finding myself drifting across a street and running into a parked car, with no control over what was happening. I still get that feeling in the beginning of a ride, especially if it involves a downhill.

[shootingstar]

I haven't gotten around to training myself to take water bottle from cage and drink from it, while riding.

While cycling, I can easily reach down to pull up a ankle sock, or scratch my ankle or adjust an ankle elastic.

But I can only do it with my left-hand, while hanging onto handlebar with right. Haven't gotten around to make myself more ambidextrous.

[redrhodie]

I can ride no hands, but have always felt my alu bike was twitchy when I did so. Well, I followed Velogirl's advice to look at the horizon, and suddenly, the bike's not twitchy anymore. Thanks Velogirl! I was too focused on the road.

[Selkie]

But you need to be able to take a hand off the bars and signal that you're stopping or slowing or turning, or signal obstacles to other riders. Sometimes you need to be able to signal stopping/slowing very quickly in an emergency situation. And you need to do it with your right hand on the brake, not in the center of the bars.

Being able to do a slalom course with no hands isn't a specific skill you'll ever need, but being able to handle your bike when you're bumped by another rider or a vehicle, or if something/someone runs out in front of you suddenly, those are skills that can save your life, and balance drills are how you get there.

Never fear, I do signal and am able to ride one handed if the situation warrants or I want to flex my fingers/wrist. I ride over 10K miles a year and have tested/solid bike handling skills. I can also do a track stand, so my balance is fine.

I just don't like messing around, trying to pull a bottle out of the cage. I've had rabbits come out of no where and run in front of me, so I keep my attention on what's ahead.

[cylegoddess]

It took me time too! Now I can do it like the pros! You will too!

[OakLeaf]

I never thought I had a weak core, as I can do lots of crunch type stuff on the ball, but nothing with balance in any position, with or without the ball.

Just as with standing balance, it's not muscle strength, it's the receptor organs in the tendons, and just as they've found that strengthening the muscles alone doesn't rehab the tendons after an ankle injury, I'd be surprised if it's any different with the core.

Standing balance (to me) is mostly about the feet, ankles and knees, and I'm pretty good at that... kneel on the ball and it's a whole 'nother "ball" game.

Seriously, try it with a deflated ball; if you have access to an assortment, a larger deflated ball will be the most stable. I'm so far from being able to kneel on a fully inflated ball that it's just frustrating and I make no progress. With my husband's 65 cm ball, with just enough air in it that I can sit on it and barely get my feet flat on the ground, I'm getting somewhere.

Another option is to use a fully inflated ball, but do it as a partner exercise. Balance has that tipping point where it's all or nothing, and if you're approaching that from the "nothing" end, it's often closer than you think. I can easily kneel on a fully inflated ball with a little help from a standing partner to get into position, and just a light touch of their hand to correct myself. Doing it unassisted, as I said, I can't even think about doing that yet.

[velogirl]

Being able to do a slalom course with no hands isn't a specific skill you'll ever need......

probably not, but it's one of the best drills to illustrate the ability to steer your bike with your core/hips/saddle instead of your hands. and it's fun, mostly because many riders don't believe they can do it!

Lorri

[owlice]

Where do I go to learn how to steer my bike with my core/hips/saddle? I'd like to do that!

[velogirl]

If you're in Northern CA (or just want to take a nice vacation in Northern CA) come to one of my clinics. We've had participants from all over the US and Canada. We're pretty much finished for 2009 (one last climbing + descending clinic this weekend), but will commence again in March 2010.

If you're elsewhere, check with your local cycling association for coaches who present cycling clinics.

Lorri

[drdwin]

MommyBird,

I am having similar issues also. Along with my clipless issues I'm also having one-handed issues as well. I did it all the time on my MTB - no hands too - but the road bike is sooooo different. I can take off one hand to wave, unzip my jacket a bit or scratch an itch but I find myself death gripping with the opposite hand - if I really concentrate on lightening up my grip and making sure my posture is correct I can do it - grabbing a water bottle however will require that I actually move my upper body a bit more than just from the elbow down and that freaks me out. I've also been practicing changing my hand positions frequently going in and out of the drops and this seems to be helping me feel more comfortable. I'm also keep my head straight and focus on the road ahead because turning my head while riding one handed really messes me up. Good thing I don't do group rides yet!!!!!

[owlice]

Lorri, thanks! I'm on the opposite coast, and though I've LOVE a nice vacation to northern CA (or anywhere!), such a thing is unlikely while my spawn is in college.

I'll look locally; thanks!

(Or maybe you need to travel east... be a guest instructor out here! )