Your First Three Years ~ Part 2:

New Bike ~ The First Ride(s)

A Guide for Beginner (and Experienced!) Cyclists, to the Art and Practice of Cycling.  Becoming Proficient, Fit, and Happy on your bike.

This series began with the post on Tuesday, 19 June 2012.  It is intended to continue for three years.  Each week, we will discuss exercises, skills, practices, and activities designed to bring the new (or “experienced”) rider a high level of cycling competence.  We’ll address common problems, and (always) stress safe practice.

You’re about to purchase that all-important “bike-of-all-dreams.”  You’ve made the decision, and the bike is ready for you.  Take a moment right here and do a few things.  (NOTE:  It’s never too late!  If you are already past some, or all, of the following, go back and do this.  It won’t hurt you to take the time, and you may just learn something useful.)

Initial Familiarization:

Have the controls of the bike explained to you, and demonstrated.  Then, immediately repeat the demonstartion with your hands on the controls.  Learn which shifter does what, and in which direction.  Which lever is the front brake, and which is the rear.  Where are the quick releases for the brakes, and how are they operated?  How does one remove a wheel from this particular bicycle?  How does one inflate these tires?  Do you have the correct kind of pump to do so?  Do you need an adapter of some sort?  What tire pressure should you maintain?  How often should you check the tire pressure?

Big Hint:  In the excitement of receiving your bike and making the final purchase, you are likely to forget some of the above advice.  Make out a written checklist.  Take it with you.  Refer to it.  (As a shop pro I recommend this.  I rarely see it done.  I’m usually delighted when a customer does it.)

Safety: 

If your helmet is more than three years old…  REPLACE IT!  Do this when you take delivery of your new bike.  Wear it every time you get on the bike!

A word about falling.  When you fall (and you will) keep your hands on the handlbar.  Hang on with a death grip, and go ahead and shout as you go down.  Holding on to the bar will prevent you from throwing a hand out to break your fall.  You want to do it this way.  That instinctive hand out leads to three possible bad injuries.  Rotator cuff injuries, tears, separations, fractures, and dislocations are all painful, and possibly expensive and debilitating.  Hyper-extension injuries of the elbow are no fun.  Crushing injuries to the wrist are not a joy either.  KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE BAR!  And that shouting?  An open airway makes your thorax more resillient.  You will absorb the impact more easily.

Your very first ride…  ALONE:

So now that you have your new bike at home, it’s time for that important first ride.  This should be a short ride, and it should be solo.  Just as important, it should be away from distractions and traffic.

Let’s prepare a bit.  First off get into some comfortable clothing to ride in.  It’s okay if you don’t have all the “professional” kit, but do put on a pair of shorts. (We don’t want pants cuffs getting caught in your chain, do we?)  Some appropriate shoes would be good.  If your shoes have laces, tuck them into the shoe so they won’t flop around.  (Again, we don’t want this ride brought short by anything getting tangled.)  Put your helmet on.

Now let’s prepare the bike.  Sure you just got it from the store.  But inspect it anyway.  Check the tire pressure.  Make certain that all quick releases are tightly closed, and that the wheels are secure in the bike.  Lift each end of the bike and spin the wheel.  Does it move freely?  Good!  Now get the bike into a good “take-off gear.”  Do this my experimenting with each shifter.  Pick the rear of the bike up enough to get the wheel off of the ground.   Click one shifter at a time, one shift, and push the pedal.  Watch to see where the chain goes.  Your goal here is to get the Chain into an easy gear to start with.

If your bike has a “triple”…  meaning it has three gears at the front, push the pedal and the left shifter until the chain is on the middle gear.  Keep experimenting until you accomplish this.  Now…

Work on the rear gears with the right hand shifter…  until you get the chain onto the inside gear, that is the one that is physically larger than the others.  This combination is a very easy gear, good for starting and climbing hills.

One last thing before you mount up…  Check the brakes.  Squeeze one brake and push the bike forward.  Does one of the wheels lock?  Good.  Now repeat with the other brakes.  Does the other wheel lock?  Great!  You’re ready to go for that ride.

What are our goals for this first ride?

Well…  We’d like to get back in one piece

Get a feel for brakes and shifting

See how this thing feels and handles

Maybe open it up a little?

Hey!  That sounds like a plan.

Start with brakes.  On the overwhelming majority of bikes the left hand brake lever controls the front brake, and the right hand lever controls the rear brake.  So let’s start a gentle ride, at very low speed, just up and down the neighborhood street.  And as we ride, let’s just, ever so ge-e-e-e-ntly squeeze the right hand lever.  We’re going to bring the bike to a stop, so be ready to get a foot on the ground.

Now repeat that exercise again, this time with the left brake.

Now you know that the brakes work, and can be controlled, if you apply them at low speeds, and make gradual applications.  Good enough.  So start riding around a little more.  Try some slow and gentle turns.  Repeat your low speed braking stops.  (Don’t bother with the gear shifting yet.  There will be time for that later.)  As you become more familiar and comfortable with your braking, increase your bike’s speed a bit.  Again, make gentle controlled stops.

Brake a little harder now.  Go back to very low speed, but this time make a fairly hard stop, using only the rear brake.  Then repeat using only the front brake.  If things start to get out of hand, just let go of the brake.  You don’t want to skid, and you definitely don’t want to pitch over the front of the bike.  The purpose of these exercises is to get familiar with the performance of each of your brakes, and to learn how to control them.

Now let’s try some shifting.  To begin with, we’ll work with only the right hand shifter.  It’s the one that controls the rear derailler.  It is the one you will use the most too.  The most basic thing you need to know about shifting is that the chain should be moving.  That means you need to be turning the pedals while you shift.  And here comes the tricky part.  When we say you need to be pedalling we mean just that.  But we don’t mean that you should be stomping away and putting power into the pedals.  The shifters and deraillers will respond best if you are sort of coasting along, and just turning the pedals gently.

About your shifters.  One button, or lever will cause the bike to change into a higher gear.  The other will cause the bike to change into a lower gear.  Higher gears are harder to pedal, but they make the bike go faster.  Lower gears are easier, but slower.  Experiment.  In a very short while, you will find that this shifting stuff isn’t hard.  It will start to feel intuitive very quickly.

It’s time to put it all together.  By now you’ve been riding around for about a half hour.  Now just cruise the neighborhood, shift when you feel like it.  Make some stops and starts.  Most of all, take time to enjoy your new bike.  You’ll be repeating this ride for the next week.  This is your introduction period.  Don’t rush it.  Go out and ride your bike every chance you get, and take time to get well acquainted with it.  Repeat the exercises above on every ride.  You aren’t going anywhere with these trips.  Instead, you are just riding, and getting in sync with your new bike.  Have FUN!

Next week: Basic Bike Handling, Safety, and Health

~//~

A Note on Timing:  This series uses Mid-June as the starting point of the “Cyclists Year.”  We do this because this is the time that most folks decide to start riding.  If you are following this guide, you can “adjust” the timing to fit your personal “first three years.”  Do note that some of the posts will concern weather and seasonal changes.  When that starts to happen, just swap the “months” around to fit your personal timeline.