Shaky Rider
 

Shake rattle and roll, I get nervous when I'm going fast on my bike and I need to signal for a turn or to stand while peddling uphill, I begin to shake. I'm positive I look terrible doing so. I am pretty new to riding will this feeling go away, is there hope I'll be graceful and not even give it thought? :( Does it happen to you?

Experience will smooth all things out.

Not only will you get used to the speed, but you will crave it.

Yupp.... experience will help and you will crave for speed.

Just keep at it. Getting up out of the saddle to climb is still new to me and I am not very smooth looking doing it but it is a skill I need to learn.

I love going down hill and maybe the fact I ride a sport bike with a similar riding position as the road bike helps with feeling more in control at higher speeds...tho I am ready to use my brakes to slow myself by covering the brifters and moderating my speed as well as necessary.

Yes, no substitute for just going riding. Heck I couldn't drink and ride for a cople weeks. If I had to look back for traffic I always wobbled at first too. I bet I didn't stand for two weeks.

But I just started practicing those things on a side street, going slower, and now I can :)

Youll get there

I almost burnt up my brakes going down a hill by my house the first time I did it.

Now it feels like I'm running out of gearing going down it at about 46mph.

You don't normally need to stand to pedal uphill. It's a pretty special case thing. As you get to be more comfortable with riding, you may *choose* to stand. Also depending on your size, you may be dealing with a twitchier bike than a lot of guys are riding. While I'm not teensy, for a variety of reasons the right bike size for me is about a 48 or 50cm. Some bikes in that size range might have head tube and seat tube angles like 70/75, and generally bikes are a bit more stable when the angles are 72/72. With a twitchy bike, you need to have better biking form in order to stand or ride no hands. There's other stuff that goes into twitch, like how long the chainstays are and how prone the front wheel is to flopping to the side... all kinds of little details. But it's harder to look like you've got mad skills with a twitchy bike.

You don't have to signal turns. If you're not comfortable taking your hands off the bars, you can stop and cross the way a little kid would, as a pedestrian. It's annoying and kind of a pain, but it works. Sometimes I signal, sometimes I cross as a pedestrian. I pick and choose depending on how tired I am, how heavy the traffic is, how many lanes the road is and so on. Heck, sometimes it can be as simple as I decided to get a drink while waiting for the light to let me cross.

You develop grace by practicing. That means you spend a fair bit of time being sweaty, red faced, and looking vaguely dorky :). Most everyone who is good and fast has been there themselves, so they wouldn't dream of making fun of you. (and realistically, I can't help but look a whole lot dorky whenever I ride, since my bike is a step through granny bike :D) You'll find that most times if someone is rude, they don't ride themselves, or they're new and still trying to get comfortable with embracing their inner dork.

Being able to climb while standing is a useful tool to have in your toolbox. Like everything else, it gets easier with practice. Lean forward over the bars. Some sort of foot retention system (clips/straps, or clipless pedals) will make standing much more comfortable on your psyche.

It's not necessary to stand, but there are hills that are more easily climbed while standing.

Of course, at 6'2" and 160 lbs, it's easier for me to say this, I guess. :lol:

Thanks, you made my day!!!