Which obstacles to avoid?
06-28-17, 09:28 PM
#26
Senior Member
Also, watch for storm drains. Some have the openings in your direction of travel, and when your front wheel falls into it (it will) you will come to an instant stop - at least your front wheel will.
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Some people are like a Slinky ... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
Some people are like a Slinky ... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
06-29-17, 07:04 AM
#28
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If you ride at night - bats as they go for bugs in front of your lights.
06-29-17, 10:04 AM
#29
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And giant toads ... and dinosaurs .... and Bears ... on bikes .... they can catch you ... and Eat you.
Cycling is so much easier and more natural than we make it sound. Yes, we almost unconsciously scan for possible obstacles and maneuver around them or ride over them as the situation dictates ...and there are so many of us still here posting ... it cannot be that hard to do.
I seriously recommend some hard-dirt roads so you can get the feeling of riding on an occasionally and unexpectedly loose surface. You will see what survival skills your body has been hiding all these years and your confidence will shoot up.
Cycling is so much easier and more natural than we make it sound. Yes, we almost unconsciously scan for possible obstacles and maneuver around them or ride over them as the situation dictates ...and there are so many of us still here posting ... it cannot be that hard to do.
I seriously recommend some hard-dirt roads so you can get the feeling of riding on an occasionally and unexpectedly loose surface. You will see what survival skills your body has been hiding all these years and your confidence will shoot up.
06-29-17, 11:36 AM
#31
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Anything bigger than a 2x4, heavier than you are, or sharper than a badger's tooth...
06-29-17, 11:53 AM
#32
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Zombies.
06-29-17, 12:12 PM
#33
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Wood bridge + any type of moisture = slick as ice.
I walk my bike across them. Even walking, I almost fell once it was that slick.
I walk my bike across them. Even walking, I almost fell once it was that slick.
06-29-17, 12:12 PM
#34
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And on a serious note - OP,if you ride the largest and grippiest tires that will fit on our bike, you will find many of the smaller hazards are no longer an issue. Big, grippy tires are far more resistant to getting caught in cracks, don't pinch flat (with adequate air pressure) and laugh off gravel. Manhole covers are far less of an issue.
But first, address your neck and vision issues. You have to be able to see where you are going! Perhaps first make some modifications to your bike like a higher rise stem while pursuing exercises and stretches. Contrary to a poster above, I do not talnybody to not ride in the drops. The drops are the most secure handhold on a bicycle. Control is excellent. You have a grip that cannot be knocked loose and that cannot slide forward off the bars or brake hoods. You have excellent access to your brakes and can use them without jeopardizing your grip. Raise your bars until you can ride (and see) in confidence in the drops.
When I set a bike up, my first adjust after the seat is located correctly is the handlebars to get the drops dialed in. Not until that happens do I even look at the brake hoods.
Ben
But first, address your neck and vision issues. You have to be able to see where you are going! Perhaps first make some modifications to your bike like a higher rise stem while pursuing exercises and stretches. Contrary to a poster above, I do not talnybody to not ride in the drops. The drops are the most secure handhold on a bicycle. Control is excellent. You have a grip that cannot be knocked loose and that cannot slide forward off the bars or brake hoods. You have excellent access to your brakes and can use them without jeopardizing your grip. Raise your bars until you can ride (and see) in confidence in the drops.
When I set a bike up, my first adjust after the seat is located correctly is the handlebars to get the drops dialed in. Not until that happens do I even look at the brake hoods.
Ben
06-29-17, 01:29 PM
#35
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Hmm, has the OP ever been back, or did all these "tips" prompt him to consider curling or badminton instead. 😀
06-29-17, 05:50 PM
#36
Every day a winding road
I just recently started riding a road bike. I find myself having to watch the road condition like a hawk all the time to avoid running into anything. Moreover, because of the dropbars, I find that I am unable to look farther ahead or my neck hurts. I must be doing something wrong. What obstacles are safe to run over? Acrons? Pebbles less than an inch? Uneven asphalt, particularly near the edge of the manhole?
Motorcyclists! Was out yesterday for a ride. A idiot on a Harley pulls right in front of me then he slows down! I almost t-boned him. Had I been in a truck, his family would be writing his obituary about now. What a moron. You would think someone riding on 2 wheels would be more aware of their environment.
Get yourself a pair of wider tires. At least 26-28 centimeters. You won't need to worry so much about gravel and such.
06-29-17, 06:32 PM
#37
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I typically just walk across them. It only takes a few seconds and one is back on the bike. I suppose I don't know what would happen if I rode across them, but I never really wanted to find out either.
06-29-17, 08:19 PM
#38
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Moving cars? Trees? Mailboxes? Those garbage cans that people like to put in the middle of bike paths? Deer?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUowmjtaAJE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUowmjtaAJE
But if I'd been the cyclist in that video, that particular place is the last place I'd expect a deer to cross. On a steep hillside, jumping upward and across a guardrail. But I probably wouldn't even coast that fast downhill near dawn or dusk.
06-29-17, 08:45 PM
#39
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More like "Deer hits cyclist". I think of that video every time I'm riding in the rural area where there are several deer crossings. I slow down for the most likely crossing paths, especially at dawn and dusk.
But if I'd been the cyclist in that video, that particular place is the last place I'd expect a deer to cross. On a steep hillside, jumping upward and across a guardrail. But I probably wouldn't even coast that fast downhill near dawn or dusk.
But if I'd been the cyclist in that video, that particular place is the last place I'd expect a deer to cross. On a steep hillside, jumping upward and across a guardrail. But I probably wouldn't even coast that fast downhill near dawn or dusk.
I like to move a little to the left as my speed increases, but I can't say whether that would have prevented the collision other than a few milliseconds different in timing.
I did hit 52 MPH just before dusk yesterday
Oh, and passed a buck with nubs of a velvet fork
(not quite in the same place).
06-30-17, 02:22 PM
#40
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Simplest thing ... look ahead, not down. Learn to do that. if you are looking down you won't have time to avoid the little things ... and it won't matter because you will die.
Would ride as a passenger in a car with a driver who only looked ten feet ahead? Would you let your children (assuming you like your kids, of course)?
Raise the stem, shorten the stem if needed. Ride on the hoods or the drops, Practice. I am not joking. if you only look ten feet ahead you will be a statistic. At the speed things happen on the road, you need max field of vision.
On the way there i strongly recommend suburban neighborhood riding. you will see enough pavement cracks and storm grates, cars parked in the road, kids running out of driveways, to give you enough riding challenge to give you some confidence and also some safe miles.
"Bike handling" is a loose term that basically means "not falling over" and "going around obstacles without crashing." if I were you I would practice riding on smooth grass, smooth pavement, and also the transition between the two. I would recommend doing a few panic stops every day---practice stopping as hard as you can, see if you can lock up the back wheel ... you will develop instincts which could save your life.
I would practice doing tight-radius turns. Try to do a u-turn in one lane of a road.
Riding on grass and slightly uneven turf will help your confidence because the bike will bounce a little, and you will learn to relax and let it ... to Ride the bike, and not lock it in a death grip ....
You can also ride slowly on packed earth, even with really hard skinny tires. This is great because you gain confidence, and if the soil shifts a little, you will instinctively keep the bike upright and be thrilled at your own innate skill.
People nowadays have the idea that a skinny-tire road bike can only ride on smooth pavement. That's where they are best, for sure ... but you can ride them on all kinds of surfaces.
Would ride as a passenger in a car with a driver who only looked ten feet ahead? Would you let your children (assuming you like your kids, of course)?
Raise the stem, shorten the stem if needed. Ride on the hoods or the drops, Practice. I am not joking. if you only look ten feet ahead you will be a statistic. At the speed things happen on the road, you need max field of vision.
On the way there i strongly recommend suburban neighborhood riding. you will see enough pavement cracks and storm grates, cars parked in the road, kids running out of driveways, to give you enough riding challenge to give you some confidence and also some safe miles.
"Bike handling" is a loose term that basically means "not falling over" and "going around obstacles without crashing." if I were you I would practice riding on smooth grass, smooth pavement, and also the transition between the two. I would recommend doing a few panic stops every day---practice stopping as hard as you can, see if you can lock up the back wheel ... you will develop instincts which could save your life.
I would practice doing tight-radius turns. Try to do a u-turn in one lane of a road.
Riding on grass and slightly uneven turf will help your confidence because the bike will bounce a little, and you will learn to relax and let it ... to Ride the bike, and not lock it in a death grip ....
You can also ride slowly on packed earth, even with really hard skinny tires. This is great because you gain confidence, and if the soil shifts a little, you will instinctively keep the bike upright and be thrilled at your own innate skill.
People nowadays have the idea that a skinny-tire road bike can only ride on smooth pavement. That's where they are best, for sure ... but you can ride them on all kinds of surfaces.
I found myself having to change my riding style dramatically. When I had a mountain bike, I always minimize the amount of braking done, by switching between the sidewalk and the road to avoid obstacles, turning to someone's driveway (upward slope) to slow to a stop, etc. With a road bike, I just stick to the road, it's like a 7 year old learning to bike again.
It's been raining here, I am waiting for a nice dry day so I can practice.
06-30-17, 02:24 PM
#41
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On another note... Curling? Badminton? HELL NO! I love cycling. Once I get on a bike, I don't want to get off
06-30-17, 02:53 PM
#42
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Be careful with edges, such as manholes and the junction between pavement and a bridge. If the edge is tall enough and you hit it with too much speed, you will compress the tire/tube against the wheel and get what is known as a pinch flat or snakebite flat. There will be two small holes on the inner circumference of the inner tube.
Don't run over plastic shopping bags, a/k/a Arkansas Tumble Weeds. They can get wrapped up in your chain/rear derailleur and bring you to a quick halt.
Watch out for sticks/limbs as they can get hung in your chain, spokes, and derailleurs.
Gravel on otherwise paved roads can be deleterious to control of your bike, especially in corners. Larger rocks can cause pinch flats.
As you get more miles in, you'll learn more about obstacles, what to avoid, and how to react.
Don't run over plastic shopping bags, a/k/a Arkansas Tumble Weeds. They can get wrapped up in your chain/rear derailleur and bring you to a quick halt.
Watch out for sticks/limbs as they can get hung in your chain, spokes, and derailleurs.
Gravel on otherwise paved roads can be deleterious to control of your bike, especially in corners. Larger rocks can cause pinch flats.
As you get more miles in, you'll learn more about obstacles, what to avoid, and how to react.
06-30-17, 03:20 PM
#43
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if the OP has a background in MTB I think he will figure it out pretty quickly.
It's as easy as falling off a bike, after all.
It's as easy as falling off a bike, after all.
07-01-17, 06:19 PM
#45
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Did we get blackberries impinging on the road shoulders & bike paths?
Blackberries.jpg
What about snakes sunning themselves (photo to follow.... sometime).
Blackberries.jpg
What about snakes sunning themselves (photo to follow.... sometime).
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