jenbike

I am 33. When I was a kid/teen, I rode bike constantly; daily, pretty-much lived in the saddle all summer at that time. At 15, I had an incident in which a car struck my bike from the rear; I had been on the right shoulder, and I looked back, and saw a car that appeared far enough away, so I crossed the street.. after I crossed the double-yellow line, the car followed me over the line and hit my back wheel. It was a Doamondback MTB, and the only damage to it was a bent rim and somewhat-bent frame where the wheel attaches.. me, I had skinned knees (my butt had gone into the windshield and spiderwebbed it but didn't break through) and I had landed on the car hood, and rolled gently to the ground; very traumatic (never saw it coming.) I had no permanent damage despite being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and was able to go home the same day.

I rode only a little after that before stopping forever until recently. I have about 10 one-mile rides under my belt so far and am dealing with the joys of getting back into it, since I lead a pretty sedentary lifestyle. That's another topic because something is concerning me.

I get frightened of cars approaching me from behind now. I sometimes flinch, sometimes cringe although they are of course not hitting me, and it sometimes causes me to swerve an inch or two (not like I am swerving out into the road..) but still. I hate this! I am trying to desensitize myself, but I live on a fairly busy street (although traffic dies out a LOT at night) and sometimes I resort to riding against traffic so that I can see approaching cars and hypothetically bail to the side if one should swerve.

I actually avoid my own street b/c of its being busy, and prefer the less busy sidestreets. I also discovered a rough old road nearby today that felt GREAT to ride because of there not being cars. I have a MTB, so the terrain is no trouble.

Brings me to another issue.. I testrode some hybrid bikes at the bike shop, which hypothetically should have been perfect for my needs (mostly road biking with some light trails.) I hated them. They felt topheavy, too-tall and weird, even with the seat at the "appropriate" level where I could tippy-toe the ground. I feel the NEED to be able to almost flat-foot when at a rest; the idea of not being able to do this fills me with terror. The bike I chose is a MTB like the ones I rode as a kid, and I can almost flatfoot with it. This makes me feel pretty confident about not falling off.. if I were to ride it with the seat higher, I would tense up and probably fall over.

Any ideas from those who have ridden before me on the path of recovering from similar issues? I am also a recmvering small-time alcoholic, and biking is one of the things I am fitting into the new free-time that I am not drinking. (7 months drinkless now!)

jenbike

I should add! I feel much more at-ease in night-riding. The streets here are almost completely dead, especially after 11pm-midnight, and I have flashy lights to signal my presence to any traffic that does appear; the roads are well-lit enough that I can see clearly, and it is like the road is mine then. But I don't want to be trapped into just riding at night.

treadtread

Congrats on going drink free! Are there any MUPs where you can ride, as you get habituated?

John Redcorn

I won't ride with cars at all except in neighborhoods. I'll cross main streets but that's it. Bike trails for me. Been in a dozen wrecks in my 20 years driving, driving my own or work cars and trucks. (I admit 2 were my fault) Too many people not paying attention for me to want to be out there without my "cage".

When i first started riding again in Dec and first learned about proper saddle height it only took me a a day to get used to it. Just watch the girl in the video on this page a few times how she starts and stops. Mostly gotta come off the saddle if you want to stop unless you lean or there's a curb or something nearby. Starting and Stopping

JanMM

Maybe you should look into a crank forward/flat foot technology bike that is designed so that both feet can be on the ground at rest.
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...orward%20bikes

Try to ride on lightly traveled roads - or MUPs - now and work towards becoming more comfortable with traffic.

Do not ride on the wrong side of the road!

BobbyG

I know I'm going to sound like a broken record, but once I started riding with a mirror, and especially the "Take-a-Look" mirror on my glasses, I felt much more confident about traffic. A helmet or glasses mounted mirror will allow you to see completely behind you by merely sweeping your head from side to side. Also, with the AirZound air-horn (you pump it up with a bike pump) I know drivers can hear me, cause I sometimes get dirty looks and/or the finger even when their windows are up. Bright LED flashers work in the daytime. I also avoid many main roads as they are not bike friendly. Use google maps to plan your routes along side streets, and realize that just because a street has a bike lane, it may not be as enjoyable or safe as a less used road without one. Congrats on taking control of your life. Now get a mirror, a horn, lights and go, Go, GO! (Yea, Jenbike!)

wphamilton

The nervousness about passing cars will probably subside as you experience more of it without incident. Just the repetition tends to desensitize you.

MRT2

I don't have any advise about getting over your understandable fear of riding in traffic, though I wish you success.

as for preferring to ride bikes where you can stand flat footed, my experience is, except for a handful of bikes designed as such (Electra Townie) , if you can stand flat footed while in the saddle, your saddle is too low and/or your bike is too small. You should be able to stand flat footed over the bar, but not while seated on the saddle.

Wanderer

Get a Mountain Myrricle mirror - it is an amazing tool to keep you informed about what is behind you.

Mvcrash

I've never been hit by a motor vehicle but have seen first hand the ones that did and didn't make it. I too am scared of traffic and ride mostly on MUP which are available near where I live. I sometimes ride in streets to get to the MUP and sometimes on streets between places (Hudson River MUP and Central Park). I think a rear mirror would help. I certainly don't advise riding at night, ever. Humans have enough trouble driving during the day let alone when they don't see well at night. Matter of fact I would say driving a bike at night is really....really dangerous and I don't care how many lights you have. Just my 2 Cents. If you care to learn why you should not drive a bike at night PM.

Berta

Congratulations on all of your endeavors

I agree with the others who recommend a crank-forward bike if you find after lots of riding that you still want to be flat-footed while seated at a stop. Riding with the saddle in a position that causes too much knee bend when one leg is the most extended it can be with the foot on the pedal can cause knee strain as well as early fatigue in your ride from being in an inefficient position. Crank-forward models are made so this isn't an issue, because you can have the ideal amount of knee bend while pedaling and still have the flat-foot position when stopped. That said, you could just raise the saddle on the mtb bike you're currently riding once you feel comfortable enough with your skill level, that is if your knees can handle the lowered saddle in the short term. Nobody would recommend riding like that, really, but I was thinking if money was an issue or you like the bike you have otherwise.

VegasTriker

Did you pick the frame size on your current bike at random or did you buy it from someone who knew how to fit you to the bike? Some bike salesmen (or saleswomen) are clueless and will sell the wrong size bike to a customer just to make a sale. It appears you may be riding one with too large a frame. +1 to using a decent mirror like the Myrricle mirror. It gives me the same view you would get from a car mirror which helps a lot when you are riding with traffic. I will not suggest a particular type bike because I think if you get the right size in any bike it will be rideable for all of the uses you suggest. Remember that at a stop you can slip forward off the seat and be flat footed on any bike where you don't hit the frame in this position.

jenbike

There is more good info here than I can even say. That video is changing my whole perspective on everything. I am going to raise the seat and get into a parking lot soon to practice that.

I am being highly advised to trade my MTB in for a dual sport. I do mostly road riding and I think this will help me with efficiency and wobbling issues. The guy who is talking to me now works at the shop where I originally got the bike; it's Bert's, and the guy who first helped me was very helpful (advising me more for a comfort hybrid) though I went against that advice and got the MTB because it reminded me of my teen riding years... but that page helped me see that I am falling into incorrect riding habits that stem from riding as a kid.

The bike itself fits me okay.. I am itching to raise the seat and see how that whole start-stop thing works. Years back I did ride a cousin's hybrid on and off and its seat was very high; I remember managing and possibly start/stopping correctly without really knowing what I was doing, so there is hope, lol.

I can definitely see where the MTB is inefficient on street and path riding. I sure can hop on it, crouch low and do speedy quick turns and rip it up, but I get tired almost instantaneously, and at age 33, I do not want to kill my knees (at any age, really.)

BlazingPedals

Another vote for a crank-forward bike. RANS is the premier builder of crank-forwards, but there are many cheaper imitators out there.

Also, another agreement on not riding against traffic. That is the second-most common cause of accidents, right after riding unlit at night. Just don't. Being hit from behind is frightening because you can't see it coming; but the statistics say it's a pretty low-percentage type of crash. You need to be riding in the traffic lane, in the same direction as the rest of the vehicles. With lights and flashers after dark. I think you need to take some sort of cycling class to make you feel more at-ease with riding in the street.

jenbike

I have some good news. I have been doing a few miles each day (took off a day for rest) and am feeling Much more comfortable riding in the correct lane for traffic than I did. The road shoulders here are pretty nice and wide. I found that before, I was crossing my busy street (onto a nice lighter-trafficked road) to ride against traffic, but it is actually harder and more confusing. Crossing nice with the flow of traffic is proving to be much more safe-feeling in the long run.

I definitely see where a head-on crash would be much worse. When I got into my accident, I never saw the car coming and ahd no time to tense up. I was told that this had worked in my favor because tense muscles can lead more to broken bones, of which I had none.

Cars here are GENERALLY pretty mindful of me, and give me a wide berth if no other traffic is coming in the other direction.

I know that I will prefer mountain biking on trails, where no cars are.. although that will have its own set of risks (I remember those well from many years spend riding trails as a teen!)

I also put my seat up two inches or so and am no longer feeling the absolute need to flatfoot at a standstill. I know that in doing that, I was not getting the right leg extension and putting my knees at risk. The seat probably could go up an inch or so more, but I am doing this gradually to accustom myself to it more. Working on the proper starts/stops too. As long as I remember to downshift before stopping, I actually feel more comfortable starting the right way as opposed to starting from being seated on the seat w/feet on the ground.

jenbike

What's your 'etiquette' when another cyclist who's traveling against traffic is approaching? Yesterday it happened and he went around me into the street, as there were no cars coming.