Riding with a newish rider.

[cycle cat]

Yesterday a friend joined us on our ride.
She brought her old mountain bike along.
I put it in the workstand and checked it over as it hadn't been used for a while.
She did ok.The bike was a 90's one with rigid forks, a horrible saddle and knobbly tyres.

Hopefully she hasn't been put off.I suggested slick tyres, a nicer saddle and padded shorts for
her future rides.
It was a good ride. I don't remember being in that position, that is to say, of relative newbie.
It made me think.
Encourage a cyclist today! There must be a lot if bikes in sheds that need using.
As a cyclist of some 38 years standing, it did me good to think.
I normally just get on and ride. I take a comfortable bike for granted.

[Ian Raleigh]

Just getting my wife to ride a mountain bike ! True story this....She has never ridden on a bike since
she was 10 years old, she's now 51 years old and cannot ride the bike She keeps falling over and the
pedals keep banging her shin and the backs of her legs, its funny for me to see but not for her as she is
totally embarrassed about not being able to ride a bike

ian

[LollyKat]

Cycle cat - good for you! Let's hope it will be the start of regular riding for her.

Ian - try taking the pedals or better still the chain and chainset off her bike, and set the saddle so that she can scoot it like a hobby horse. Then let her progress to freewheeling down a gentle grassy slope if you can find one. We did this for my kids when they were learning to ride, and they quickly learned to balance. Once she can do this confidently you can put the pedals back on.

I think co-ordinating balance, steering and pedalling all at once is really quite hard. It is much easier if you can break it down a bit.

[ANTONISH]

Cycle cat - good for you! Let's hope it will be the start of regular riding for her.

Ian - try taking the pedals or better still the chain and chainset off her bike, and set the saddle so that she can scoot it like a hobby horse. Then let her progress to freewheeling down a gentle grassy slope if you can find one. We did this for my kids when they were learning to ride, and they quickly learned to balance. Once she can do this confidently you can put the pedals back on.

I think co-ordinating balance, steering and pedalling all at once is really quite hard. It is much easier if you can break it down a bit.

I agree with this except I would not remove the pedals. If the learner can freewheel down a slope with a lowered saddle the next step would be putting the feet on the pedals and learning to freewheel like that without actually pedalling. In fact you could push her back up the slope while she continues freewheeling.

[Claireysmurf]

I'm a cycling returner and bought a Brompton M3L to use to get to the station and soon found myself going out for longer rides on it and have since bought a Dawes Clubman and a Kona Dew City FRR (catchy name eh).

From puffing and panting to cycle 3 miles each way, I have done a few Sunday 50 mile rides and try and use my bike to commute the four miles in to Cardiff as it is faster door to door than driving or cycling.

I am a mature Uni student and was driving up to 35,000 miles a year and so to cut my driving right back is a privilege but I do worry that I may have to slip back in to that old lifestyle (my worst daily commute was six months of 150 miles a day) if I end up contracting again.

As a Uni social media project and a genuine passion, I am trying to encourage non cyclists to return or new cyclists to start. I have a Facebook page called http://www.facebook.com/EasyCycling and a blog called http://www.easycyclingblog.wordpress.com and post on Twitter as http://www.twitter.com/cardiffbiking

I am also trying to run rides in the Cardiff area that are inclusive (I was turned away by a cycling club) and are sociable and these can be found at [url]https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/178567758910045/][/url]

I would love to see comments and Likes/followers to make this a viable project for the longer term, not just for University.

Sorry for the multitude of plugs but I am very keen to encourage cyclists and find new friendly faces in the Cardiff area. I am a bit gutted that I have lost so many cycling years but at 42 I hope I have plenty of time left

[LollyKat]

Cycle cat - good for you! Let's hope it will be the start of regular riding for her.

Ian - try taking the pedals or better still the chain and chainset off her bike, and set the saddle so that she can scoot it like a hobby horse.

I agree with this except I would not remove the pedals. If the learner can freewheel down a slope with a lowered saddle the next step would be putting the feet on the pedals and learning to freewheel like that without actually pedalling. In fact you could push her back up the slope while she continues freewheeling.

If you don't take the pedals off though she is liable to crack her shins/calves/ankles before she has learned to balance. According to Ian this is already happening. Like I said, one thing at a time...

[ANTONISH]

[quote="LollyKat[/quote]
[/quote]

If you don't take the pedals off though she is liable to crack her shins/calves/ankles before she has learned to balance. According to Ian this is already happening. Like I said, one thing at a time...

I'm not convinced. If the saddle is lowered so both feet can reach the ground the shins etc would be behind the pedals. Dragging the feet on a moving bike in these circumstances would tend to draw them further back and away from the pedals.
But then I could be wrong
I think we agree that the problem has been trying to pedal and balance at the same time.
I have to say Ian your wife is remarkably tolerant.

[Malaconotus]

If you don't take the pedals off though she is liable to crack her shins/calves/ankles before she has learned to balance. According to Ian this is already happening. Like I said, one thing at a time...

I'm not convinced. If the saddle is lowered so both feet can reach the ground the shins etc would be behind the pedals. Dragging the feet on a moving bike in these circumstances would tend to draw them further back and away from the pedals.
But then I could be wrong

From experience*, Lollykat is right. Scooting a bike while sat in a lowered saddle will damage your shins unless pedals, at least, are removed.

*Childhood, recently helping kids to learn to ride, most recently being so lazy as to do a hobby-horse conversion rather than walk alongside pushing a bike with terminal drive-train issues.

[ANTONISH]

[

From experience, Lollykat is right. Scooting a bike while sat in a lowered saddle will damage your shins unless pedals, at least, are removed.[/quote][/quote]
I'm wrong

[karlt]

If you don't take the pedals off though she is liable to crack her shins/calves/ankles before she has learned to balance. According to Ian this is already happening. Like I said, one thing at a time...

I'm not convinced. If the saddle is lowered so both feet can reach the ground the shins etc would be behind the pedals. Dragging the feet on a moving bike in these circumstances would tend to draw them further back and away from the pedals.
But then I could be wrong

From experience*, Lollykat is right. Scooting a bike while sat in a lowered saddle will damage your shins unless pedals, at least, are removed.

*Childhood, recently helping kids to learn to ride, most recently being so lazy as to do a hobby-horse conversion rather than walk alongside pushing a bike with terminal drive-train issues.

Is that code for "broke the chain"?