learning to ride
 

i returned to riding last year after 30 years off the bike.usualy did
over 12,000 miles a year.got a shock last year as i had lost the
confidence to push down on the pedal to start off.so i lowered the
seat,chose a quiet sloping hill with no traffic.started off touching
the floor,after an hour of this,i put my feet on the pedals and found
that once i started pedaling it was easier to balance the bike.took me
about 2 hours,then i was ok.im 62,but if i leave too long a time
gap,ie a month,im still a bit wary.its an ideal way to learn to ride.
gareth
;)

learning to ride
 

gary2006uk wrote:
i returned to riding last year after 30 years off the bike.usualy did
over 12,000 miles a year.got a shock last year as i had lost the
confidence to push down on the pedal to start off.so i lowered the
seat,chose a quiet sloping hill with no traffic.started off touching
the floor,after an hour of this,i put my feet on the pedals and found
that once i started pedaling it was easier to balance the bike.took me
about 2 hours,then i was ok.im 62,but if i leave too long a time
gap,ie a month,im still a bit wary.its an ideal way to learn to ride.
gareth
;)

Great. Well done to you.
(1) A useful reminder that riding a bicycle isn't 'natural'.
(2) Reading between the lines (so I may be off-target, apologies if that's the
case) I'm a tiny bit suspicious of either your bike (is it your racer from 30
years ago) or your technique (many possibilities) that make it tricky to get
back on after just a month's gap. I know this sounds like patronising nannying,
but an hour's ride out with a trained instructor may be a revelation - and get
right to the heart of those _confidence_ worries.
(3) What's your ambition for the next 12 months?

--
Peter (Prof) Fox
Multitude of things for beer, cycling, Morris and curiosities at
http://vulpeculox.net