Advice for new cyclist
The NewsBrowser
Well after 30 years of always wanting to ride a bike
but not being able to do so and being restricted to
gazing wistfully at cyclist zooming by, I finally signed
up to a cycling school lesson and made the big breakthrough!
And it felt reeeeeeeeeeeally good, I can tell you.
The question is, what now? I was told by the instructor to
keep on practicing (not that I need much encouragement), but
I'm not sure which of the following options to take:
(a) Go out and buy a new bike. I'm told the kind of bike I'm
looking for is about £250 to £300, and I don't have that kind
of money to hand; I can spend about £150 or so. Moreover,
I have storage space problems, so unless I can get one of
those foldable bikes I've seen around, that may be a bit
of a problem. I don't know if there are issues with those
foldable bikes, anyway.
(b) Rent a bike. I'd go for this, but I don't know if there
are any bike rental shops near where I live (Croydon). The
instructor suggested Dulwich Park, where they rent out
bikes for riding in the park, but that's a bit far.
(c) Borrow one of a friend. Sadly, I don't know of a friend
who *does* have a bike to spare, and it would be a problem
wheeling it all the way to where I live.
Aside from this, I want to progress from just wheeling
about in the park to actually riding on the road. Can
anyone suggest any skills I might want to master? If I
don't ride for a week, I hope it's true what they say
about never forgetting how to ride a bike, once you've
done so?
Sorry this is a bit long; I guess after wanting to ride
for so long, this is what comes out.
Thanks in advance,
Akin
---
Akin
email: ak_soto at yahoo dot co dot uk
Myra Van Inwegen
>The question is, what now? I was told by the instructor to
>keep on practicing (not that I need much encouragement), but
>I'm not sure which of the following options to take:
>
>(a) Go out and buy a new bike.
Better yet, go out and buy a used bike. They are much cheaper then new
ones.
>Aside from this, I want to progress from just wheeling
>about in the park to actually riding on the road. Can
>anyone suggest any skills I might want to master?
I've got a long article on how to ride safely in traffic at
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mvi20/bike/bike-saf.html
>Sorry this is a bit long; I guess after wanting to ride
>for so long, this is what comes out.
This wasn't all that long!
--
-Myra VanInwegen mv...@cl.cam.ac.uk
Myra's Bike Pages http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mvi20/bike/
GoFar magazine : UK XC MTB http://www.gofar-mtb.com/
Arthur Clune
: [snip]
Congrats on learning to ride!
For the next step -
1) Buy a second hand bike for hte 150 quid mark. Buy a copy of
Cycling Plus or Cycling Weekly and look in the small ads. Try and
find someone who knows about bikes to have a look if you can. Otherwise
if a *good* local bike shop takes trade ins you might get a second hand
bike there. It'll cost a bit more, but you'll at lleast know it's be
serviced.
2) Where do you live? Some cities now have classes on how to ride a bike
in traffic. York has one of the best, but this won't be of much use unless
you live in York...
Arthur
--
Arthur Clune
Cosmologists are often in error but never in doubt - Lev Landau
John Mallard
The NewsBrowser <n...@newsbrowser.com> wrote in message
news:8imeeb$53sir$1...@fu-berlin.de...
> Hi all,
>
Congratulations!
And welcome! :-)
It may be a little early for you to decide which style of cycling you enjoy
most, so I would suggest going second hand for the time being.
Check out Myra's site for some excellent tips.
I was going to suggest the London School of cycling (Or whatever Patrick
Field's organisation is called) but I can't remember the address.
Anyone?
--
Cheerful pedalling
john_m...@lineone.net
icarusi
news:8imeeb$53sir$1...@fu-berlin.de...
I can spend about £150 or so. Moreover,
> I have storage space problems, so unless I can get one of
> those foldable bikes I've seen around, that may be a bit
> of a problem. I don't know if there are issues with those
> foldable bikes, anyway.
Mailspeed Marine (www.mailspeedmarine.co.uk) were doing a Birons
badged Dahon folder for £140. It's not on their site but was an ad in
a boat mag. It's a 3 speed Sturmey Archer and came complete with carry
bag. I went to their place in Warrington to examine the thing prior to
purchase, but you have to phone an apointment ahead cos they're
warehoused elsewhere. I find the gearing a bit high for other than
flat going, but it seems like a simplish job to re-gear, which I'm
intending to do. The panier wasn't included. IIRC you need to mention
the boat mag ad or you may get charged for the previous price (£240).
If you want to see the type look at the 16" folders on www.dahon.com
It's not quite like those but the Compac is closest in frame shape. I
suspect the 12Kg weight is for the 1 speed and the Sturmey adds
0.5-0.6 Kg. Big plus of a folder for a 'light user', is you can put it
on a bus, if you underestimate the exertion for your outward journey.
Icarusi
--
remove the 00 to reply
The NewsBrowser
John Mallard wrote in message <8iocmf$a7t$1...@supernews.com>...
>>
>Congratulations!
>And welcome! :-)
>
>It may be a little early for you to decide which style of cycling you enjoy
>most, so I would suggest going second hand for the time being.
>
>Check out Myra's site for some excellent tips.
>
>I was going to suggest the London School of cycling (Or whatever Patrick
>Field's organisation is called) but I can't remember the address.
Ah, but that's the genius who inducted me into the wonderful world
of cycling in the first place!
Akin
John Mallard
> >Field's organisation is called) but I can't remember the address.
>
>
> Ah, but that's the genius who inducted me into the wonderful world
> of cycling in the first place!
>
Ah!
So there's no point in me recalling that the address is
http://www.londonschoolofcycling.co.uk
Then, is there?
:-)
--
Cheerful pedalling
john_m...@lineone.net
Jeremy Parker
>Aside from this, I want to progress from just wheeling
>about in the park to actually riding on the road. Can
>anyone suggest any skills I might want to master?
Well, basically, it's learning to share the road with your neighbours,
who will mostly be in cars, or crossing the road on foot.
There's a good book on sharing the road with other traffic,
"Cyclecraft", by John Franklin. That tells you what to do. However,
there's also the psychological aspect - cars can be a bit intimidating
until you get used to them. For that it's like getting used to anything
else. Take it slowly and gradually, and in small doses. Try to pick
otherwise pleasant circumstances so you don't have too many obnoxious
things happening at once
Jeremy parker