Learning To Cycle



Sheriff

New Member
May 1, 2015
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Hi. I am a 28 year old male and never really learnt how to cycle a bike. I can go straight (bit wobbly) and turn some corners but was wondering whether anyone knew of a place where I could go for an intensive weeks training on quiet roads, just to build up my confidence ? Uk or abroad. Quite like to get into road biking to improve my fitness, thanks
 
Hi.

Before you start you must read some stuff about it. There's plenty of must-follow rules what to cadence rate, way of sitting on a bicycle, drinking, etc. No following them can end up in health concerns. No joking.

A place you are talking about could seem to be a gym where you can start working-out as an addition to cycling (In all that in one place :)). There's no need to go that far (abroad) to have some good cycling.
 
Hey, congratulations that you can go straight on a bike, even if you are wobbly. Practice is the secret to success! You can do this! What I suggest is: bring your bike to a large empty car park. Wear long sleeve shirts, long pants, and a helmet. Mount the bike and go straight. Now to do a turn, you do not really move the handlebars. Instead you lean your weight in the direction you want to go -- gently of course -- and the bike will go where you point it, sort of. This will let you do a big gentle circle and help you build confidence. You should be able to practice riding in large circles for an hour. Do an hour every day for a week. After a week, try putting up some cones or whatever you have available to mark a left turn. See if you can do that left turn without your feet touching the pavement. Don't go fast at all, just concentrate on doing the turn. If you fall, that is okay, we all have falls now and then when learning how to ride. Pick yourself up and try again. Practice left turns for a week. At the start of the third week, practice right turns. Keep practicing turns like this for a week. Then make it more complex: do turns from a stop, both right and left. Practice doing roundabouts. Remember to expect to fall down every now and then, it just happens.

It may also help you to have a friend with you who is an experienced cyclist. I'm sure your friend can improve on my suggestions.

Note for forum members who have never been to the UK: remember, they drive on the left over there. The British system of roundabouts is a lot more efficient than our turn signal systems. It's easier for "Sheriff" and other riders in the UK to make a left turn than a right turn because a right turn often signifies crossing a lane of opposing traffic.

I hope this American-who-has-been-to-the-UK is remembering it all right.

Bob
 
Try to find a local group of cyclists near you. Most cyclists are happy to help a newbie out. Not only that but a local group will know the area you live in and can probably give you some advice and good trails to ride.

There is also a ton of information online. Just doing some google searching can answer a lot of questions you have. Or post specific questions to the forums here. :p
 
A common mistake people make when first learning to cycle is not cycling quickly enough. The cyclist relies on momentum to stay on the bike, a lot of people learning to ride bikes are too careful and pedal too slowly resulting in the perception that cycling is difficult. The important thing is to keep pedalling, steering takes some getting used to but is not something that needs to be taught.
 
Keep riding and keep it going! Practice is perfect as it you will get used to the bike and improve your balance ten fold! Try biking in a large area first then increase your range of skills by trying out on the back roads and sooner or later, the streets.
 
To build up the confidence nothing like riding. The more hours you are on the bike, the better you'll ride. Practice makes perfect!
 
It's basically keeping your balance while you are on the bike. To keep your balance, you need to depend on momentum as "dc31" pointed out. You may ride at moderate speed, not too slow or not too fast until you pick up confidence.

Cycle riding is learned through practice and a skill thus acquired is called cognitive skill or psychomotor skill. All you have to do is ride the bike for a week to 10 days at a stretch.
 
Basically go out with few friend who have been cycling since childhood. Especially the college students around your area, if you can bicycle with them that would be the best idea for since you will be able to have fun and learn at the same time. Cycling always gets more fun with people you know and you will be able to learn better with friends who have been cycling for a long time now. Start by practising 3-4 times a week and then it should not take you more than 3 weeks to get trained.
 
I once went on a little over 100 mile ride with a friend. When we got there (and we were supposed to spend the night), he said he felt like leaving. LOL. So we never know what can happens when we are riding with someone.
 
This thread reminds me of my younger days when the bike was always wobbly. My brother would reprimand me for being stubborn that I should never look at the front wheel of the bike. His rule for me is to look ahead, about 2 steps ahead of the wheel. You tend to lose your balance when you stare at the wheel. Well and good, I did that. And then one time I was head up high with my biking when I didn't notice the front wheel falling into a pothole... making me lose my balance.
 
Yeah inevitably I also think about my childhood when I shared a bike with my brother and we fought about who would ride it first! :D
 
Making sure you're sitting on the bike properly, with a healthy posture, is a great way to start, as this can really help you to avoid injuries further down the line. Trust me, it's more than worth it, and something that you will never regret. You should find that simply by practicing, you start to feel more confident on your bike, and this is something that is certain to be helpful when you're trying to train in the future. To be honest, though, the only way that you're ever going to get better at it is by getting out there and doing the practice, so you should certainly try your best to do this whenever you can.
 

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