Fellow car enthusiast wanted to get into MTBing but didn't want to spend a lot of money on a bike to test the waters. After everyone else in the world (except me) advising him against a Walmart MTB, he bought one for $150 and rode out. I told him that there's no sense in paying $500+ for something you aren't sure about and besides, its always nice to have a beater down the road if & when you do upgrade to a nicer bike. He had been MTBing for about a month (just a couple of times) when he asked me if I wanted to go. Unfortunately I ride my roommates MTB but was down for maintenence so I invited him to do some urban riding last Saturday night. I would then be able to ride my trusty Schwinn Traveler (old as I am) and we could go downtown and hit a restaurant or bar or 3. I told him to pickup a headlight + tail light set from Walmart, and meet me at my house. I provided the lock, pump (co2 inflator), patch kit, and tool kit.

We set out on the exact same route I take as my "fun" route to work. It was actually more than I really thought about, him being a beginner biker let alone never doing urban riding OR night riding. I told him the ettiquette of the road and some of my modified "rules of the road" I use in this non-biker city. Showed him that the formal bicycle hand signals are pretty much useless, that you have to point towards your turn (with either hand) and that sometimes trying to get out of the way of a vehicle is more dangerous than taking up the whole lane in certain situations. I also showed him where and why I stop for rest, including my main stop at the crest of the toughest hill mearly 3 miles into the ride. I normally stop for a few seconds to get water and get off the bike, but I do not rest there... I rest on the 2 mile coasting stretch on the other side of the hill. He struggled on his MTB which had part to do with him learning basic biking, using gears and momentum, but he kept up throughout the ride.

We got downtown and I showed him around, and as soon as we got there he forgot all about the sweating, the hills, and the event where his feet slipped off giving him a nice pedal-to-the-shin incident. We did a loop around the nightlife of the city, including scenery of not only lights but women too. We ate on an outside patio in the heart of the area and even got a question from the bartender if my helmet was one of the new skull bucket helmets that everyone is wearing. I politely told her that we rode downtown via bicycle not motorcycle, and that it was a simple bicycle (Giro) helmet.

I showed him the ins-and-outs about when and where to look for traffic, pedestrians, etc. Showed him sidewalk ettiquette and how to slow-ride (brakes+pedal at same time) around peds/crowds. Also told him some of the commuter lingo... cager, right hook, being buzzed, etc. Let him know how to handle coming up behind someone, bums, rough looking people in dark places, etc. Also gave him reasons to buy toe-clips after his shin-incident. We ended the downtown ride by just cruising up and down the main strips listening for a band we liked. There was a nice blues band playing at one place so we went back there for a couple of hours. The ride back to my house was the "be careful of drunks" ride where you avoid streets at all costs and are extra defensive/careful. He really enjoyed the downtown ride.

The good part: He posted up on Tuesday that he bought a tool kit, patch kit, a real helmet, and that he commuted to work.

I'm going to try to get him to join BF and post here.

Positive karma: +1.

Nice stuff and I liked how you had him get the cheap MTB to start...

yay!

Nice!

Hopefully he won't have too much trouble down the road with that bike, that can be a real turn off. Make sure he understands that a higher quality bike will not only perform better but will last longer. Many people get frustrated with cycling because they have never owned a quality bike. There's nothing wrong with a wal mart bike if the owner knows what to expect and that there are better options available...

Good job, keep encouraging him!

Get a receipt from the Karma bank! That's a helluva deposit!

I once bought a Walmart bike for 200 bucks and returned it the next day. I went out a couple weeks later and bought a Kona Dew. The best decision I ever made. I can't not ride my bike every day, I abolutely love having a decent bike.

Wonderful story, thank you. I especially liked how you explained the little things to him: the hand signals, the lane changes, etc.

My previous job had a 17 km commute, and the first couple of times I rode it with a co-worker, and he pretty much did the same those mornings as you did here. It has saved my butt, shins, and probably head more times than I can count.