BrumJim
Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
- Location
- Selly Oak, Birmingham
Great to hear. I was wondering if you would make it onto a bike, but sounds like success. Now its time to get good!
Learning...
- Thread starter swampyseifer
- Start date
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swampyseifer
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Milton Keynes. UK
just a quickie to say I didnt get out on the bike today...going out tomorrow for definate!
OP
OP
swampyseifer
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Milton Keynes. UK
Hokay then...first off, good news, I can now ride!!! Feels so silly to be happy over such a simple thing but I iz!
So right, went to go to my local park with my wife to carry on practising...but there was a bunch of kids running around, playing football and stuff. So that put me off going there, I wanted to go in (tbh after waiting so long since the last practise I was kinda worried that I'd find I'd have to start all over again!) but she insisted that we go somewhere else. There's a nice little green area not far from us (for those who know Milton Keynes, if youre driving into New Bradwell from the Wolverton end, there's a road that goes off to some alotments).
I got on the bike and did the same things that I'd been doing with the friend. So I pushed off, instantly went leftwards and stopped...so I thought you know, its been a week, I'm bound to be rusty...so I pushed off again, again left and off. Tried again and managed to keep on after the left and then my foot slipped off the pedal, my jeans caught in the gear and I half-fell and grinded my ankle bone on the pedal! At that point I was thinking I wanted to go home again.....then I reminded myself that I knew I could do it...I just had to keep at it.
So probably about 20mins went past and I had varying degrees of success but only as far as going round to the left the whole time. I could keep balance for maybe 5-10 seconds but then I'd end up leaning so much that i'd have to put my foot down.
Then out of the blue, I pushed off, not doing anything different and I managed to catch the leaning and just keep going. Yeah ok I was weaving around like a madman but I was doing it! I was cycling and was able to keep my balance! I looked back to my wife to give her a huge grin...lost my balance and fell off! Important lesson there, keep focus!
So, from there on I started to make little goals, like pedal to "that tree", or whatever. I got better and better at staying on as long as I wanted! Till eventually I was actually circling around the whole grassy area! My wife decided to run off and was calling out for me to catch her and I did! I cycled the fastest I had so far and I even dropped the gear down (leaving 2 on the left and down to 1 on the right) which made it a lot easier.
Finally we decided that it was time to stop (even tho quite a big part of me didnt want to!). I asked her to let me go round one more time, but to record it on my phone...as I wanted to email a video of me riding to my mate...whom without I wouldnt have got this far! So I pushed off and she recorded me going away from her, doing a big cirlce and coming back. She called out to brake as I was heading back at her but I thought "lets see what I can do!" So I called "see ya" as I pushed my legs to cycle harder and flew past her! However as many things go, you should never walk before you can crawl! I hit some undulating ground, heard a clunk from the back of the bike and lost all resistance on the pedals!
My chain had come off! oh cruel world! Why must you keep tormenting me with maintenance issues (tho I do think it was when I hit the up bit of the undulating ground).
Still, unlike last time I had at least achieved the skill of cycling...well, I'm not skilled but I can at least cycle now. Already agreed with the missus to go cycling there again tomorrow - once I fix the chain.
Oh and I have uploaded the video to youtube
So right, went to go to my local park with my wife to carry on practising...but there was a bunch of kids running around, playing football and stuff. So that put me off going there, I wanted to go in (tbh after waiting so long since the last practise I was kinda worried that I'd find I'd have to start all over again!) but she insisted that we go somewhere else. There's a nice little green area not far from us (for those who know Milton Keynes, if youre driving into New Bradwell from the Wolverton end, there's a road that goes off to some alotments).
I got on the bike and did the same things that I'd been doing with the friend. So I pushed off, instantly went leftwards and stopped...so I thought you know, its been a week, I'm bound to be rusty...so I pushed off again, again left and off. Tried again and managed to keep on after the left and then my foot slipped off the pedal, my jeans caught in the gear and I half-fell and grinded my ankle bone on the pedal! At that point I was thinking I wanted to go home again.....then I reminded myself that I knew I could do it...I just had to keep at it.
So probably about 20mins went past and I had varying degrees of success but only as far as going round to the left the whole time. I could keep balance for maybe 5-10 seconds but then I'd end up leaning so much that i'd have to put my foot down.
Then out of the blue, I pushed off, not doing anything different and I managed to catch the leaning and just keep going. Yeah ok I was weaving around like a madman but I was doing it! I was cycling and was able to keep my balance! I looked back to my wife to give her a huge grin...lost my balance and fell off! Important lesson there, keep focus!
So, from there on I started to make little goals, like pedal to "that tree", or whatever. I got better and better at staying on as long as I wanted! Till eventually I was actually circling around the whole grassy area! My wife decided to run off and was calling out for me to catch her and I did! I cycled the fastest I had so far and I even dropped the gear down (leaving 2 on the left and down to 1 on the right) which made it a lot easier.
Finally we decided that it was time to stop (even tho quite a big part of me didnt want to!). I asked her to let me go round one more time, but to record it on my phone...as I wanted to email a video of me riding to my mate...whom without I wouldnt have got this far! So I pushed off and she recorded me going away from her, doing a big cirlce and coming back. She called out to brake as I was heading back at her but I thought "lets see what I can do!" So I called "see ya" as I pushed my legs to cycle harder and flew past her! However as many things go, you should never walk before you can crawl! I hit some undulating ground, heard a clunk from the back of the bike and lost all resistance on the pedals!
My chain had come off! oh cruel world! Why must you keep tormenting me with maintenance issues (tho I do think it was when I hit the up bit of the undulating ground).
Still, unlike last time I had at least achieved the skill of cycling...well, I'm not skilled but I can at least cycle now. Already agreed with the missus to go cycling there again tomorrow - once I fix the chain.
Oh and I have uploaded the video to youtube
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
Well done mate
Keith Oates
Janner
- Location
- Penarth, Wales
When you feel more confident and start riding on the road there will be no stopping you, keep going and you will be doing more and more each time you go out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mugshot
Cracking a solo.
You can do it! Really well done you, but a really big pat on the back for your mate and your wife too.It's great how it just clicks, it was the same with all my kids when I taught them, couldn't do it and ready to give up because it's impossible one minute, disappearing over the horizon the next
it's just like magic 
MattHB
Proud Daddy
- Location
- Deepest darkest Dorset
Such a cool thread. I'm envious of the thrill you must have that was mostly wasted on me when I learned to ride when I was little.
Keep going and keep letting us know a pleasure to read about
Keep going and keep letting us know
a pleasure to read about
OP
OP
swampyseifer
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Milton Keynes. UK
thanks all!
yeah Matt, apparently my smile was the widest she's seen for a long time!
just gunna have some brunch and then off to fix the chain! The wife is busy in the kitchen this morning, but we're off out later so we said we'd stop by the same grassy area and I could ride about again. it is a great place to learn and I'm glad to have found it. Its grassy so not much worry of falling off...its pretty flat as well, which makes it easier...its quiet and secluded but also there is an area with some trees that are quite spread out which is great to practise going round
yeah Matt, apparently my smile was the widest she's seen for a long time!
just gunna have some brunch and then off to fix the chain! The wife is busy in the kitchen this morning, but we're off out later so we said we'd stop by the same grassy area and I could ride about again. it is a great place to learn and I'm glad to have found it. Its grassy so not much worry of falling off...its pretty flat as well, which makes it easier...its quiet and secluded but also there is an area with some trees that are quite spread out which is great to practise going round
OP
OP
swampyseifer
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Milton Keynes. UK
Thanks all! It is a great achievement and I was glad to share it with you guys! 
lol mugshot, thanks very much!
Also, quick update on the chain issues.
I checked the chain this morning and it was on the gear fine?! So i just turned the bike over to sit on the seat/handlebars and spun the pedal with my hand slowly and it was perfectly ok. So I spun the pedal quicker and the chain started to skip and slip off the gear (largest rear gear)! Wasnt sure what to do so I dropped the chain onto the next gear along and it went away, I could spin as fast as I could and it was fine.
So anyway, I wanted to get out on the bike...so we went out and I was cycling round.....managed to hit a tree at one point! Well, actually I was worried about knocking the bike, so I threw my arm out to push myself away and seriously scraped my palm, wrist and the beginning of my arm! LOL
So, I was pootling about and I was finding it knackering to have to continually pedal with such resistance so (remembering not to touch the rear gears) moved the front gear up to the largest gear which obviously removed a lot of the resistance to the pedalling...and then it started skipping and slipping again like it was on the rear gear!
Basically at this point I took the bike to halfords and asked to look at it...trying to explain as best I could not knowing most of the terminology! The bloke attached the bike up on a joist kinda thing in midair and spun the pedals round while flicking up and down the gears. He stuck a screwdriver in somewhere near the front gears (I think he was fiddling with that metal oblong thing that moves the chain from gear to gear)...he then spun the pedal and went up and down all the gears and then gave the bike back to me. He said that it looked like the metal oblong thing was "not quite right" and was "making the chain run at an angle".
Course it was dark again (damn winter) by the time I'd got all this sorted and left Halfords...so I'll now have to wait until tomorrow to see if its fixed!
lol mugshot, thanks very much!
Also, quick update on the chain issues.
I checked the chain this morning and it was on the gear fine?! So i just turned the bike over to sit on the seat/handlebars and spun the pedal with my hand slowly and it was perfectly ok. So I spun the pedal quicker and the chain started to skip and slip off the gear (largest rear gear)! Wasnt sure what to do so I dropped the chain onto the next gear along and it went away, I could spin as fast as I could and it was fine.
So anyway, I wanted to get out on the bike...so we went out and I was cycling round.....managed to hit a tree at one point! Well, actually I was worried about knocking the bike, so I threw my arm out to push myself away and seriously scraped my palm, wrist and the beginning of my arm! LOL
So, I was pootling about and I was finding it knackering to have to continually pedal with such resistance so (remembering not to touch the rear gears) moved the front gear up to the largest gear which obviously removed a lot of the resistance to the pedalling...and then it started skipping and slipping again like it was on the rear gear!
Basically at this point I took the bike to halfords and asked to look at it...trying to explain as best I could not knowing most of the terminology! The bloke attached the bike up on a joist kinda thing in midair and spun the pedals round while flicking up and down the gears. He stuck a screwdriver in somewhere near the front gears (I think he was fiddling with that metal oblong thing that moves the chain from gear to gear)...he then spun the pedal and went up and down all the gears and then gave the bike back to me. He said that it looked like the metal oblong thing was "not quite right" and was "making the chain run at an angle".
Course it was dark again (damn winter) by the time I'd got all this sorted and left Halfords...so I'll now have to wait until tomorrow to see if its fixed!
CopperCyclist
Veteran
Sounds like he's saying your front limiter is bent and thus refusing to let the chain sit straight. If that's the case you should hear the chain grinding on it in most gears. We moan about Halfords, but they should be able to deal with simple fixes for you, and anything that gets you back out there is great by me!
Agree with some of the others btw, this is easily one of the nicest threads of the year!
I give you two months before you start wanting a drop bar bike
Agree with some of the others btw, this is easily one of the nicest threads of the year!
I give you two months before you start wanting a drop bar bike
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
Swampy, I'd missed the last couple of instalments, but that post from last week is the most heartwarming one I've read in ages. Your grin on the video says it all. Slip me some skin bro'