HELP!!! Entitled to senior discount-new bike but forgot how to ride-what do I do???

[naxet53]

I am sooo embarassed. In my mind I still remember everything about riding a bike (back in high school--- one speed only, no gears, peddle backwards to stop)...
Well.... hubby is an avid cyclist (even went on a solo tour through Washington state to celebrate his 50th b-day... before I met him). He also did the Maya-Quest a few years ago... so you can see he KNOWS bicycling.
OK... so I thought I could get a bike and BOOF, I'd be out there with him (maybe not going as far or as fast..... but doing it together.... you know????).
Well.... I have a nice new mountain bike... gloves... and a helmet. (I understand the bike is sort of a "hybrid" (whatever that is).

BUT.... you CAN forget how to ride a bike. It actually took me 10 minutes to get up the courage just to shove off and pedal some... all I could see was me falling (and I can't help but worry that I'll forget I have hand brakes....).
I can't seem to get past the wobbles... I'm just not in real control of the steering. I'm sort of aiming....but not really steering (yesterday one of our dogs got in front of me and wasn't fast enough, and I actually ran into his rump).
Hubby tells me my seat is too low... but when he raised it up my feet couldn't reach the ground and I just froze up... Plus, I can't seem to remember how to stand and peddle... I seem to be stuck (glued) to the seat.
OK, where we live it's all dirt roads. Day one hubby took me out to the roads... too much for me (with trucks and farm equip and me not in control of steering, stopping or starting yet). So, I'm trying to practice in our yard (it's big enough to ride... just not much in the way of long straight stretches.. just round and round the trees and up and down the dirt drive)...
But I'm not making any progress... I'm still WOBBLING all over everywhere... And then hubby got on the phone with my son (who ALSO is into cycling) and announces "Your Mamma can't ride a bike"...

Someone help me???????? What do I need to do??????

 

[gclark8]

Its like SEX, it will come back to you eventually.

 

[naxet53]

I appreciate the humor... but I'm really serious.

Are there any tricks to getting my bicycle legs again??? WHY am I so wobbly???? What am I doing wrong?????

 

[KMKS]

try just riding faster, the bike is way more stable at speed.
you really will get it back if you learned to ride a bike before. sounds to me like you're able to get up and going, but are just tremendously nervous, which is probably taking away from your speed. don't be nervous, you're riding on grass right now and have a helmet, what could go wrong? Confidence is key.

 

[danch]

One thing I noticed coming back from my 20 years of not biking, todays bikes seem 'twitchier' than I remembered. This in turn made me twitchier!

As KMKS said, confidence is the key - build your confidence riding in low-stress environments close to home. The bike will also get more stable as you go faster.

Maybe try not to overthink steering - two wheelers that are moving fast enough to be stable turn by leaning, not by steering, and a bicycle is so light that you really don't need to think about it a lot. The biggest key is to look where you want to go. Your hands and body will do the right thing pretty much subconsciously.

Standing up to pedal took me a surprisingly long time to get comfortable with - my legs and sense of balance had to rebuild a surprising amount. It'll come, just be patient with yourself.

Keep at it, and your body will remember what to do. Just take it easy and be a little bit patient, and it will come back to you. And above all, remember that riding a bike is fun!

 

[KMKS]

excellent points, by the way, i too have returned to biking after not really riding a bike for about 15 years. My first bike ride since i was a small child in fact came about a year ago when my girlfriend was sick and asked me to go to the store to get her some food. Of course the only transportation was her bicycle and the only road was a crowded city street, i felt like i might die on the road considering i nearly fell off twice on the short trek there, but once i got my speed up along the road it was no problem.
Also "aiming" the bike is about right, like danch said, you steer a bike at speed by leaning it. Just look where you want to go and chances are the bike will follow. Good luck!

 

[naxet53]

I'm going out right now to try some of your suggestions.

I think y'all are right... I am soooo nervous and my confidence is about zero (I don't remember needing confidence when I was little... is that like an adult "bonus"???)...

Also, someone mentioned something that reminds me of what my Dad told me when I was learning to drive... "don't look at the road 2 inches in front of your wheels... look at the road way out there in front of you"... Maybe I've been focused too close????

I hadn't thought about it myself, but whoever said the bike itself is "twitchier" nailed it. Maybe I should have started out with a bike like I remember?? (hubby said they're called Coaster bikes now)... I just remember you had resistance when you pedaled. This bike is almost toooo easy to pedal. Anyways, this is the one I have, and "durn it" I'm going to get it somehow!!!

OK... so another question. The guy at the bike shop said to pretend I have a 3 speed bike (1-2-3 on the left handle), and the settings on the right handle are just fine tuning... I don't really understand the gear thing at all, but maybe I need to turn myself down to 1 (I had it on 2 and I think in the middle for the other side, at about 5)??? And then what about the other side?????

umm.... Any tips on how to fall without killing myself???

Lordy lordy.... y'all are awesome!!!!!

 

[KMKS]

I'm in the midst of teaching an adult friend to ride right now, so i've thought about this a lot. Your hubby was right, your seat was way too low for riding. but i don't think there's anything wrong w/ putting your seat down so low that you can put your tip toes on the ground from the seat while you're gaining confidence. go ahead and lower that seat until you're ready to get out on the road, it'll help overcome your fear of falling to an extent.
sorry to be so long winded, but this is something i've been thinking about a lot lately w/ my friend learning to ride.

BTW, whoever told you to look down the road was correct. On 2 wheels especially you can suffer from target fixation, this means where you look is where you go. So staring at that big tree to your right isn't a good idea. By the same token neither is staring straight down at the ground .

 

[Telegram Sam]

First- and I'm sure my wife would agree- never involve your husband in any learning experience. I have tried to teach her lots during her learning experience with the bike, and she has now replied that I should go sit on a tack while she rides her bike around all wrong...point taken- I let her go at her own speed, and if your husbang wants to amke fun of you as you get back into riding, pop his tires and get some laughs in yourself...

Now, on to the bike. First, if you want resistance like you had on the coaster- put the left dside on 2 and the right about the middle- that ought to be close.
Next, and my wife still is doing this after probably 1000 miles of riding (and it drives me crazy!!!) Try starting out without being in the saddle- you will be a lot more stable if you can master it, and practice popping on and off the saddle. To be comfortable, you should not be able to reach the ground from in the saddle, pbut for now it's ok if you can touch the ball of you foot (no flat-footing, you'll be sore as all get out).
Now- pedal a little faster, that will take car of the wobbles. If you are doing what wifey did first, you are trying to ride in a really enclosed area way too slow, and you are trying to turn the handlebars to steer. Rarely in riding do you actually ever turn the bar as far as you are probably turning it, most steering is done by leaning.
Last- you can do this, stop telling yourself you can't and it will be easier. Pick a goal every day and do it. End of the driveway, end of the street, end of the earth right- If you get a few scrapes along the way- well, as I said to my wife after she went over and a pedal dug into her calf..."We all have to pay our dues". Once she fell once (and shortly after she gave me a nasty hand gesture) she had a whole new experience- she realized that she could clean up the scrape and go ride again and her confidence was where it needed to be.
Cheers

 

[gruppo]

OK, this may be a very simple solution to more complex problem, but here goes anyway.

One of the big problems of coming back to cycling as an older adult is that we have generally grown much more cautious and conservative in all aspects of our daily lives -- don't make mistakes, don't fall down, don't make a fool of yourself, etc.

So, forgetaboutit! Have fun!

Remember back to when you were a kid and just got on the bike to go, anywhere. Have fun with it -- play around. Heck, fall down, dust yourself off, and get back up and do it again. Who cares?!

I guarantee within a couple of minutes, you will have forgot that you forgot how to ride.

Nike is right. Just do it.

 

[JohnO]

If your hubby is serious about cycling, and it sounds like he is, you guys might see if you can borrow a tandem bike for an afternoon.

My wife and I get out on our tandem on occasion, and she just loves it.

 

[Little Jackie]

As a new, mature rider myself, I can identify. See if you can find yourself somewhere pleasant with a smooth surface and plenty of long gently curving paths. A friend allowed me to have the seat lower initially,gradually raising it each ride as I became more confident. He also made sure that all the distances were correct. I don't know the technical terms, but that from the handlebars to the seatpost! As I am a small person, he also moved my gear levers etc. in a bit so that my arms were not too far apart. I am still a little scared of falling off, especially if there is debris on the path. I have been practising standing up as I am slowing down so that I am not stuck up on the seat when I have to get off. Most of all I have been enjoying myself!

I am sooo embarassed. In my mind I still remember everything about riding a bike (back in high school--- one speed only, no gears, peddle backwards to stop)...
Well.... hubby is an avid cyclist (even went on a solo tour through Washington state to celebrate his 50th b-day... before I met him). He also did the Maya-Quest a few years ago... so you can see he KNOWS bicycling.
OK... so I thought I could get a bike and BOOF, I'd be out there with him (maybe not going as far or as fast..... but doing it together.... you know????).
Well.... I have a nice new mountain bike... gloves... and a helmet. (I understand the bike is sort of a "hybrid" (whatever that is).

BUT.... you CAN forget how to ride a bike. It actually took me 10 minutes to get up the courage just to shove off and pedal some... all I could see was me falling (and I can't help but worry that I'll forget I have hand brakes....).
I can't seem to get past the wobbles... I'm just not in real control of the steering. I'm sort of aiming....but not really steering (yesterday one of our dogs got in front of me and wasn't fast enough, and I actually ran into his rump).
Hubby tells me my seat is too low... but when he raised it up my feet couldn't reach the ground and I just froze up... Plus, I can't seem to remember how to stand and peddle... I seem to be stuck (glued) to the seat.
OK, where we live it's all dirt roads. Day one hubby took me out to the roads... too much for me (with trucks and farm equip and me not in control of steering, stopping or starting yet). So, I'm trying to practice in our yard (it's big enough to ride... just not much in the way of long straight stretches.. just round and round the trees and up and down the dirt drive)...
But I'm not making any progress... I'm still WOBBLING all over everywhere... And then hubby got on the phone with my son (who ALSO is into cycling) and announces "Your Mamma can't ride a bike"...

Someone help me???????? What do I need to do??????

 

[Little Jackie]

Continuation of message.
If you have 3 chain rings, stay in the middle one and just change your 7 or 8 gears on the other side until you are confident with them. Then ask your husband or some other trusted person how to proceed. You will get to a point of frustration with the limited use of gears quite quickly!

I am sooo embarassed. In my mind I still remember everything about riding a bike (back in high school--- one speed only, no gears, peddle backwards to stop)...
Well.... hubby is an avid cyclist (even went on a solo tour through Washington state to celebrate his 50th b-day... before I met him). He also did the Maya-Quest a few years ago... so you can see he KNOWS bicycling.
OK... so I thought I could get a bike and BOOF, I'd be out there with him (maybe not going as far or as fast..... but doing it together.... you know????).
Well.... I have a nice new mountain bike... gloves... and a helmet. (I understand the bike is sort of a "hybrid" (whatever that is).

BUT.... you CAN forget how to ride a bike. It actually took me 10 minutes to get up the courage just to shove off and pedal some... all I could see was me falling (and I can't help but worry that I'll forget I have hand brakes....).
I can't seem to get past the wobbles... I'm just not in real control of the steering. I'm sort of aiming....but not really steering (yesterday one of our dogs got in front of me and wasn't fast enough, and I actually ran into his rump).
Hubby tells me my seat is too low... but when he raised it up my feet couldn't reach the ground and I just froze up... Plus, I can't seem to remember how to stand and peddle... I seem to be stuck (glued) to the seat.
OK, where we live it's all dirt roads. Day one hubby took me out to the roads... too much for me (with trucks and farm equip and me not in control of steering, stopping or starting yet). So, I'm trying to practice in our yard (it's big enough to ride... just not much in the way of long straight stretches.. just round and round the trees and up and down the dirt drive)...
But I'm not making any progress... I'm still WOBBLING all over everywhere... And then hubby got on the phone with my son (who ALSO is into cycling) and announces "Your Mamma can't ride a bike"...

Someone help me???????? What do I need to do??????