Kabbie

It is April, which means it is finally warm enough and light late enough to ride the bike after work. It's been a good 8 months since I've been on my trusty Cannondale Quick and for some reason, it is completely different this spring. I'm not sure if my confidence is gone, or if I'm having a balance issue. What I do know is that I'm scared of making right-hand turns. I slow down to practically nothing before I make the turn now. On today's ride I actually rode into a yard rather than turn a little sharply. It's weird and makes me a nuisance to ride with. Heres the deets: Female, 47, a little bit of cancer, and curvaceous.

good4u

One thought is that you may need to look a little further ahead rather than down at the corner being negotiated. Just a thought.

fietsbob

Male 71, do a lot of slow rides sharing the side walks with pedestrians and just practice..

unlike guys , you may have the courtesy , as a reflex,.. to converse with the others.. around you..

they should reciprocate ..



I thought the proper phrase was Rubenesque ...

Kedosto

Yep. Eyes on the horizon. Look where you wanna go, not at what you're trying to avoid. Google "target fixation" for the nitty gritty. Also, a little bit of speed helps. Nothing reckless of course, but certainly enough to carry yourself through the corner. Pedaling through corners is bad practice. Google "pedal strike" for the uglies on that. And then there's always "practice makes perfect." Keep at it, you'll get there.


-Kedosto

tyrion

Do you understand the concept of counter-steering?


If you want to turn right, push down on the right handlebar. If you need to turn right sharper after you've started the turn, push down more on the right handlebar.

Maybe on a wide open parking lot, practice with exaggerated counter-steering, with a pronounced turn to the left to set up a right turn. Practice weaving with pronounced counter-steering.

If intuitive steering doesn't come back to you with some parking lot practice, maybe you do have a balance (inner ear) problem. Maybe there's a simple test you can do to check that out before going to the doctor.

SummerG42

Thank you for this video!! As a newbie, this answers so many questions!

Kabbie

Thanks! I saw a seven year old on a bike path yesterday. She just biked off the path to pass a group of walkers and then biked right back onto it. I miss that ease! I will definitely practice more. And. . . I prefer Curvy Girl. Even though I'm three years away from my first AARP card.

Kabbie

I'm making a google list now. I'll check it out tonight. Thanks for the feedback!

Kabbie

Thanks! I will definitely work on that. I found the videos for the GCN group this weekend too. I see drills in the local community college parking lot coming up as soon as we have a dry day. I appreciate the feedback!

zjrog

I was off the bike for a few years, and it took me a while to get back some of my confidence. Then I was off for a few years due to an injury, and I am finding those skills very lacking. Watching kids ride sure makes it look easy!!!

Not that you have any particular issues, but my wife quit riding for much the same reason. She got an adult upright trike and did OK, but then her overall health reached a point she can't ride that either. She believes the turning issue was an inner ear issue.

Cyclist0108

Ouch.

Some chemotherapy agents can damage your ears, and thus balance.

Wider tires might help with giving a bit more sense of confidence.

Beachgrad05

Interesting you say it is only to the right you have issues. Do you have any physical issues on that side? Are you right handed or left?

I rode a motorcycle for years. In 1992 I had an accident that was my fault but it happened to be on a right hand curve. After that, I had issues leaning the bike enough on right hand turns. Going left was no issue...I felt confident and capable leaning into left hand turns. I have not noticed if this issue has translated to my cycling on my road bike.

Rick

Five years ago I ordered a touring bicycle. When I first went to the shop they had me test ride one of there bicycles. I started out and after a couple of pedal strokes for no apparent reason I fell on my right side. When I took delivery of my bicycle I had 2" wide Schwalbe marathon supreme tires mounted on it. I wore out 2 sets of those since then and now have a pair on the Schwalbe marathon mondial tires mounted on it. I don't think I put very many miles on it the first 3 years because of my fear of some things that I don't remember bothering me in earlier years. I have started riding consistently since the last week of November and have lost near 40 lbs. My balance has improved but I plan on using 2" wide tires and no narrower because I am comfortable with this. I had previously been rear ended in Florida. I had not been able to work a full work week without severe pain for over 2 years. Confidence is coming back and I am increasing the distance I ride now. After watching some YouTube videos of people touring in other countries. I am considering going to Europe for an extended tour. I appears more pleasant.

HeatherIL

Are you having balance problems in general or only when riding? As someone mentioned above your ears and your balance are related. It might be a good idea to visit an audiologist and have your hearing tested or at least mention the balance trouble to your doctor.

I hope you keep riding!

Kabbie

Thanks for all of the tips, everyone. I took your suggestions and worked on pedal position, figure eights, increasing speed on turns rather than decreasing, and I practiced short stop techniques to help lose the fear of flying over the handle bars. I don't remember who recommended the GCN videos, but they were a godsend. We rode in the Bo Bikes Bama event this weekend and I felt super confident in my abilities to turn corners. I even completed all 20 miles! Next we will work on my abilities to bike up huge hills.. I appreciate the support from everyone!

jadocs

At speed you steer with your rear end, not your hands. You apply counter pressure with your outside foot (pedal at 6 o'clock) and counter pressure on the bars when you lean into it.

MAK

It might help if you take your bike to an empty parking lot and "practice". If you're going too slow, it's harder to keep your balance so the empty parking lot can help you gain confidence.