Crispywafers Blog - A Noob with the Jitters

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ceemes
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#11 Unread post by ceemes »

Way to go Crispy. We've all had our share of spills and have had our confidence and pride shaken a bit, but like falling off a horse (miserable buggers, they seem to laugh at you when you fall off them, unlike bikes) you just have to get back on and try again.
Always ask why.

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#12 Unread post by sv-wolf »

Hey Crispy - great news!

Sounds like there will be no stopping you from now on.

Congratulations. I think it takes a lot of courage to get back on a bike when your confidence has taken a big knock like that. Give yourself a pat on the back, and enjoy.

Keep the posts coming.
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#13 Unread post by Texfire »

At the risk of sounding pompous, congratulations for taking the first step in conquering your fears. I may be newer at riding that you are, but I know about being ruled by fear. That scary first ride back on the bike was the first step to freedom.

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Saturday, July 28, 2007 - A Morning Ride

#14 Unread post by crispywafers »

July 28, 3007 - A Saturday Morning Ride

My husband left this morning to go run errands he "couldn't tell me about" (I am suspecting a birthday errand)...and so I geared up in a mesh jacket, riding boots, jeans, put my helmet and gloves on and sloooowly walked the bike down the drive way. This is always a bit scary as I am not tall enough to have my feet flat when sitting on the bike. I also have a downhill driveway.

Once I made it down the driveway I put my helmet on, backpack (has my keys, cell phone, and water in it), and hit the road. This is now my third ride. :ohyea: It was really nice when I left at 10am - maybe a sunny 84 degrees outside.

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I rode around for an hour - first just in the neighborhood, then to practice emergency stopping in a nearby school parking lot, and then I rode the rest of the time on some two lane double yellows right around my neighborhood - basically going around in circles. I annoyed some cars behind me with my slow starts from stop signs...and my lack of signaling for turns (my thumb can not seem to find the switch and I'm concentrating so much on everything else I just finally give up trying to find it). But overall there was not a whole lot of traffic and at most I had maybe two cars behind me at a time.

My downshifting is still terrible - I have a lot of engine braking when I downshift. My husband says that means I'm probably downshifting before I need to. I'm realizing that I need to up shift BEFORE I think I do and downshift LATER then I think I do. I also need to work on the whole turn signal thing!

Emergency stopping was scary. When I took the MSF BRC you could grab a handful of break and it was def. a quick stop but not a ... jerky one. Man... I would not grab a handful of break on my current bike. I slowly practiced stopping faster and faster and once I stopped faster then I was expecting and nearly kissed the handlebars with my face.

I'm still working on my turns. I'm certainly taking slow turns (10 -20 mph) wider then I need to and so I'm trying to lean the bike more. I’m not ready yet for main roads - I'm making too many mistakes on just neighborhood turns without traffic!

Overall it was a nice ride. I rode for an hour, and then came home as I was getting sweaty and my hands were starting to hurt. I don't know if that means my wrists/hands are wimps or that I'm gripping those bars way too hard.

Thank you everyone for your encouraging words... it really HAS helped and getting on this forum was the best thing I could have done. I'm still getting a pounding heart every time I get on the bike - but the nerves are subsiding faster. Maybe another new rider with jitters will get some courage from reading my journey so far - and that way I can pay-it-forward!
Last edited by crispywafers on Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: July 28, 2007 - A Saturday Morning Ride

#15 Unread post by dr_bar »

crispywafers wrote:This is always a bit scary as I am not tall enough to have my feet flat when sitting on the bike. I also have a downhill driveway.
If you plan on keeping your current bike, I would look into lowering it a bit to make your riding easier. You could also consider getting a riding boot with a bit of a heel, that might help with the flatfooting as well. Oh yeah, practice riding down that driveway as well....
crispywafers wrote:I annoyed some cars behind me with my slow starts from stop signs...and my lack of signaling for turns (my thumb can not seem to find the switch and I'm concentrating so much on everything else I just finally give up trying to find it).
As long as the traffic is clear, try being a bit more "Brisk" with your starts from stop signs and lights. I ride in town with my thumb sitting over the horn button, the transition to turnsignals is then just straight up...
crispywafers wrote:My downshifting is still terrible - I have a lot of engine braking when I downshift. My husband says that means I'm probably downshifting before I need to. I'm realizing that I need to up shift BEFORE I think I do and downshift LATER then I think I do.


+1 on your husbands thoughts...
crispywafers wrote:I'm still working on my turns. I'm certainly taking slow turns (10 -20 mph) wider then I need to and so I'm trying to lean the bike more. I’m not ready yet for main roads - I'm making too many mistakes on just neighborhood turns without traffic!
Get back into that parking lot and practice, practice, practice. All of your slow speed manuevers will translate into better road skills.
crispywafers wrote:I don't know if that means my wrists/hands are wimps or that I'm gripping those bars way too hard.
My guess is that you have a death grip on those bars, ease up and you'll be fine. If you really feel like you're just not getting it, don't dispair, try a couple of hours with an instructor, one on one. You may find the more personalized attention will get through better than group lessons...


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Re: Saturday, July 28, 2007 - A Morning Ride

#16 Unread post by jstark47 »

crispywafers wrote:Emergency stopping was scary. When I took the MSF BRC you could grab a handful of break and it was def. a quick stop but not a ... jerky one. Man... I would not grab a handful of break on my current bike. I slowly practiced stopping faster and faster and once I stopped faster then I was expecting and nearly kissed the handlebars with my face.
Crispy, the concept that helped me most was Nick Ienatsch's "rheostat" idea: "treat the brakes like a speed rheostat, not an on/off switch. Squeeze, don't grab." (p. 24, Sport Riding Techniques) The key is the ever-progressive squeeze. Start with a moderate squeeze, as weight shifts forward and compresses the front forks, continually increase the pressure. And be smooth, smooth, smooth. You'd be surprised how much power and control is built into those brakes.
crispywafers wrote:.......and my lack of signaling for turns (my thumb can not seem to find the switch and I'm concentrating so much on everything else I just finally give up trying to find it).
Wait till your thumb starts "finding" the horn button instead of the turn signal! :twisted: :laughing: (we all do this, by the way!)
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#17 Unread post by noodlenoggin »

Congrats!

The way I see it...if you passed a rider safety course...you CAN ride.
The way I see it...if you dropped your bike....you're human.

Everyone drops their bike when they're learning. I started on a little 125cc enduro bike and: locked up the front brake on wet grass and fell down;
gassed it too hard in a tiny mud puddle and fell down;
gassed it too hard from a stop and hit my friend's dad's pickup truck -- all of this in the first month, when I was 16.
I got my first road-bike and: gassed it too hard on wet grass and fell down;
rode into a ditch in the dark and fell down;
missed my footing at a stopsign and fell down;
had a real accident at 45mph on a mis-signed curve and fell down;
bought new tires, which were greasy, and fell down, right in front of the dealership.

New riders fall down, it's part of the game. As long as you don't get hurt, you just learn what not to do, and move on. :D
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#18 Unread post by roscowgo »

Howdy crispy. Congrats on the riding.

They're all right. I dropped my first road bike. Before that, I wrecked a dirt bike every which way it's possible to wreck one I think. The highside into the briar patch was the most fun.

Don't let it worry you and keep goin!

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#19 Unread post by NorthernPete »

Well, good to see you got back on the horse, so to speak.

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your practice and riding. take easy, make nice is all you can do. I do agree with the idea of lowering the bike if you cant get the footing you feel comfortable with.
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#20 Unread post by mysta2 »

Make sure to put some locktite on those caliper bolts, and check them often.

I always ride with at least one finger on the break, usually two. For most stops two fingers on the front and a little trailing pressure on the rear is all I need.

I've never been the best at looking through my turns, I catch myself looking at the road infront of me instead (which will always make the turn wider). I know I need to work on that and it sounds like you do too. Another thing that can unintentionally open up your turn is slowing down during it, ideally you want to set your speed up entering the turn so that you can gently accelerate through it.

...and yeah, everyone drops their bike, I tipped my 360 over a few times and my Ducati too (One time I was fried from a long, late ride and leaned it over on the kickstand without putting the kickstand down, I rearranged one of the quarter panels of my car with my shoulder on that one)
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