Monday, December 14, 2009

give me a hand

So I'm having a few problems when riding, that I'm hoping someone out there might have a pointer or two to help me out. It all comes down to balance I think...???

  • The first one is, that when I'm indicating to turn, I lose my balance and veer in the other direction. At the moment I'm having to do a blinker motion with my hand- which isn't very obvious. Drivers probably think I've just got cramp in my hand or something! So a bit of a safety issue this one.

  • The other problem I'm having is that when I'm really peddaling my heart out my upper body and arms are moving, and so in turn the handle bars, so I do a slight zig zag up the road.
Any suggestions are welcome...


6 comments:

  1. when holding your hand out to indicate, try not to put your arm up very high. Ebough so drivers can see you, but not enough to bring your centre of gravity up. That should help with the balance!

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  2. Hey Emma,
    To avoid the zig-zag try and keep your core/lower abdomine tight while keeping your upper body and arms relaxed. Also check for proper saddle height and adjustments. Experience in the saddle is your best solution.

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  3. It's not complicated but there are a lot factors involved with being able to give directional signals with a high level of confidence. Speed, traffic and balance. I remember when I started riding, I had to practice a lot of things like taking a hand off the bars, clicking my feet out of the pedals and looking at what's behind me. Over a period of time and consistent riding and practice I developed a comfort level. It is still developing after 35 years of riding.

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  4. If you're going up an incline the zig-zag notion will actually help you get up the hill. As for your unsteadiness when "peadalling your heart out," just don't pedal so hard. What's your rush?

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  5. I don't know if it'd work for you, but when I'M really pedalling my heart out I raise myself forward, over the handlebars some, so that the inevitable push/pull of my arms is in the vertical rather than horizontal plane...you still get the movement in your upper body but you as you're above the frame it stays straight and it's your body that does the moving, translating into more of a pumping motion on the pedals, rather than moving the handlebars and affecting the steering.

    (Despite all the talk of planes etc this is not planned in the slightest, just the best way that I can describe it out loud!)

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  6. Took Oli's advice on indicating with my hand low...and it worked really well! Matt's idea of 'push and pull' worked pretty well too. And I think Jonathan's advice sounds good- just need to work on my core muscles a bit more.
    Thanks for all your tips guys :)

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