How did you learn to ride?



Henrywrites

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Feb 12, 2018
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No matter what we know in life, it never came to be in one day. Ranging from when we began to walk, to speak and to relate with others. There was a learning process in all and that's what I'm saying about the riding of a bike.

I got to learn how to ride from a pal that took out time to teach me while we were still teens and I must confess that I've become comfortable riding now that you will be surprised how I can get to do things like that at the end.

So, share with us how you got to start riding?
 
I learned how to ride a two wheel bike when I was 7 years old, my older brother taught me, before that I never rode a bike, my parents never bought me a tricycle or a two wheeler with training wheels, it took me about 10 minutes to learn according to my brother who remembers the time better than I do.

When I decided to go into racing at 23 I ran into a guy who was an old racer, retired for awhile though but still riding, who was 78 years old and taught me a lot of stuff about handling, how to watch for traffic and how to ride in traffic, how to train, how to fix flats fast, he was a very interesting person, some of his training stuff was outdated but still effective. The fixing flats thing is very interesting, most people today have no clue about his method which was actually popular back when he was young but forgotten mostly when he taught me how and still forgotten today. When someone sees me fixing a flat the way he showed me I have an occasional and rare curiosity rider will stop knowing I'm doing something strange and ask what the heck am I doing!! Most people just wiz by without noticing that I'm doing something odd.
 
I ran into a guy who was an old racer, retired for awhile though but still riding, who was 78 years old and taught me . . . how to fix flats fast, . . . The fixing flats thing is very interesting, most people today have no clue about his method which was actually popular back when he was young but forgotten mostly when he taught me how and still forgotten today. When someone sees me fixing a flat the way he showed me I have an occasional and rare curiosity rider will stop knowing I'm doing something strange and ask what the heck am I doing!! Most people just wiz by without noticing that I'm doing something odd.

So could you enlight us all with his method?
 
So could you enlight us all with his method?

Nope it's a secret I'm going to take to my grave so no one will ever know how it's done and will have to fix flats the slow way! LOL!

Just kidding of course!

This method only works if you know whatever caused the flat is located on the tire.

If you know what caused the flat because you can see the offending object embedded in the tire you simply remove about 1/2 of the tire on one side of the rim with puncture in the center of the 1/2; next you then pull out about a forth of the tube again with the puncture in the center of the tube; either pull out the offending thing that caused the flat from the top of the thread of the tire, or go inside and pull it out that way, regardless you need to check to make sure there is nothing left in the thread or carcass of the tire to cause another flat; then you simply patch the tube as normal, restuff the tube, rebead the tire and inflate.

Some tires with tight fitting steel (wire) beaded tires this may be impossible for for loose fitting wire beaded tires and folding tires, even tight fitting folding tires, it's easy to do. Obviously if you can't find where the hole in the tire is then you'll have to remove the wheel off the bike and remove the one side of the tire and take the tube out to investigate to find the leak and fix or replace the tube.

I would say I can fix roughly about 50% of my flats without ever taking the wheel off the bike.

I've been able to make that process even a bit faster by using glueless patches, if done right good quality glueless patches like Park or Lezyne will work and hold for the normal life of the tube.

So how are glueless patches done right you scream? simple actually, you just prepare the tube as you would using glue on patches, and that means buffing the tube; then cleaning the area with a alcohol pad; then remove the patch off the backing by touching the smallest part of the patch as possible, usually a corner; lay the patch so that the hole in the tube is about in the center of the patch; press the patch as hard as you can between your fingers and thumb for about 30 seconds, look at the patch for any frosty areas, if you see a frosty are repress that area for 30 seconds and check again for frosty areas; that's it. I've been using glueless patches for over 20 years and only had two fail, my first one I ever put on, and a cheap one I bought called Scabs if I remember correctly didn't hold air for more than one day.

As an emergency, black Gorilla tape cut to a square will fix a flat on high pressure tires and hold for about 2 days if you prepare the tube correctly as I mentioned above; this black Gorilla tape might hold longer on low pressure MTB tires but I haven't tried it with those to know how long it will hold.
 
look at the patch for any frosty areas, if you see a frosty are repress that area for 30 seconds and check again for frosty areas; that's it.

Froze: Thanks, but what do you mean by 'frosty' areas?

35 years or so ago I read an article or letter in Bicycling Magazine that suggested to fold the inner tube in a small Z sort of pattern with the hole within the Z. I've only used this technique once and it did work some what, enough to get me home! I was visiting Ann Arbor Michigan, and rode out west to a lake to visit my god parents whom I had never met (I'd called them earlier). It was Memorial or Labor day weekend, coming back I flatted and then pinched my spare putting it on. This was before cell phones, besides I had no one in the area to call, no bike shops were open. So I tried this 'trick'. It got me back to my hotel in Ann Arbor, probably 15 or so miles. I think I had to repump the tire a few times, more as I got closer to my hotel.
 
Froze: Thanks, but what do you mean by 'frosty' areas?

35 years or so ago I read an article or letter in Bicycling Magazine that suggested to fold the inner tube in a small Z sort of pattern with the hole within the Z. I've only used this technique once and it did work some what, enough to get me home! I was visiting Ann Arbor Michigan, and rode out west to a lake to visit my god parents whom I had never met (I'd called them earlier). It was Memorial or Labor day weekend, coming back I flatted and then pinched my spare putting it on. This was before cell phones, besides I had no one in the area to call, no bike shops were open. So I tried this 'trick'. It got me back to my hotel in Ann Arbor, probably 15 or so miles. I think I had to repump the tire a few times, more as I got closer to my hotel.

By frosty I mean it's like invisible scotch tape, you lay the scotch tape down but its not invisible unless you rub the semi clear areas till it's clear which makes scotch tape invisible. With glueless patches you will see two areas where one area will be clear (for lack of a better word) and another area that is semi clear, it's that semi clear areas that need to be repressed. I hope that made sense.

I haven't heard of the Z thing, but in a pinch if you destroy a tube and it can't be patched and you don't have a spare tube you can cut the tube in half at the bad spot, tie the tube into a knot, then replace.

If you destroy a tire you can leave the tube in the tire and then stuff the tire with leaves, grass, weeds, etc. I actually had to do that once, it took me 12 miles home.
 
My dad taught me how to bike when I was younger, and w would often bike around in the neighborhood where I grew up in along with my other childhood friends. However, it was more of just leisurely biking to get to places or just to start the weekend. I got more serious about it in college when I got with a group of friends who would regularly train; thankfully, the university campus was huge and had a really nice biking track.
 
I learned how to ride bike because of my brother, he taught me, almost every morning when I was 6 or 7 if I'm not mistaken I always have a bike lesson with him. He is actually not a good teacher, but I have no choice, I want to learn.
 
I learned how to ride on my first BMX bike it was a small one and I was 6 years old, it was a red mongoose and had balancers and a bell:). After a month my uncle took off the balancers and I began biking ever since.
 
I learned to ride a bike when I was 8 years old. My friends in the subdivision were all going out to play with their bikes in the afternoon. I soon gained the courage to try it out and I enjoyed it. Now whenever I go and visit their subdivision as a kid, I always borrow one of their bikes as soon as I step out of our car. :D
 
I don't remember what age I was when I first learned to ride, but I can still remember the whole process to this very day.

My dad taught me how to ride, and while I guess he succeeded because I learned how to do so in one evening, he was really crude with regards to the process. He watched over me to make sure I didn't get too hurt, but all he basically did was take my training wheels off, sat me down on the bike and said "Keep trying until it works."

I fell countless times. My hands were scraped up and bruised from falling so much. I was angry at him and disappointed in myself for not being able to do it. And just as we were about to wrap it up for the day, my anger flipped a switch and it's like I learned how to ride out of sheer spite for him.

My father was never that great of a dad, but hey he got the job done.
 
I learned biking when I was 8 years old back then and it took me a few weeks before I could finally enjoy biking on my own. The reason why it took me quite a while was because I was actually afraid of doing new things and I was really afraid that I would fail and suddenly would crash again and again. My anger and disappointment made me to stop to practice biking, but it was surprising when my older brother brought me to a small event on a bike race I got interested again and that made me feel motivated to finally make it to my goal which is to bike. Fortunately, after 2-3 times of trying again, I made it finally! It seems like my happiest day ever that time.
 
With friends! My first bike was given to me as a Christmas present, and I was about 7 seven years old. So, my bunch of friends on the neighborhood used to have fun all together. Eventually, we all grew up and stop using our bikes. About 3 years ago, I met a girl who inspired me a lot, because she got over her anxiety issues by cycling. That's when I decided to ride my bike again, and here I am cycling all the way.
 
I was taught by my father when I was still small, we have this tiny bicycle and every time me and my siblings ride it my father holds the back seat part to hold the balance as we move forward. As far as I can remember we also have this bike that has extra seat on the side and has 3 tires. We use this type of bike to stroll around the village and it's really fun that 4 of us can fit in and a driver which is my dad.
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I learned how to ride through trial an error when I was 8 or so. At 27, my brother convinced me to get a road bike and I had to learn the basics by riding. A group leader from my local bike club helped me improve as a rider and learn more about road cycling.
 
How? I learned how to, when I decided to have the courage balancing :)
I used to borrow my friends bicycle when I was like 20 years old already! It's not easy, specially for me who is old enough to learn balancing. It takes me like 2-3 nights. My cousin will be the one holding the seat at the back side of the bicycle. It's too difficult balancing, I was so afraid to fall down or get crashed into a tree. That's what we do, I pedal and she will hold it at the back, until she was able to release it, and I am screaming as to why she did! :) But was amazed realizing I am doing it alone! that I can do it now alone! That's the best feeling of learning how to ride. Until I bought my own cheap bicycle, and that's when I learned faster. I actually took the courage to learn because I wanted to learn how to drive a motorcycle. And now I can do both.
 
Hey there! Learning to balance on a bicycle can be tough, but it's great that you stuck with it and had someone to support you during the process. Balancing is key for urban cycling, where busy city streets require focused attention. Once you've got that balance down, you'll be able to navigate the hustle and bustle with confidence. Keep at it!