Teaching a grown up noobie

[david1701]

Hi guys,

My new girlfriend has asked me to take her cycling, she doesn't have a bike or really access to one so I'm taking her to a cycle hire place attached to the camel trail. She's only ridden once before and she was 18 so isn't really a confident cyclist.

Everywhere we're going is traffic free and very flat, I'm carrying the food and supplies ect. What should I do to get her acclimatised? I'm gonna hire her an mtb or dutch style if they have them and the shop said they'll give her a helmet.

Hints appreciated

 

[tadpole]

Don't do it, she'll only enjoy it, and want to go with you next you are out, but at her pace. Keep it to yourself. You know it makes sense...

 

[david1701]

love it, its ok I get to do another 60 miles and go to the pub so all is shiny

 

[Dave 123]

Teach her to do wheelies and skids.... especailly on a hired bike!

 

[deanE]

No better place to start than the camel trail, although you might find a lot of numpties who are coming towards you and have no idea about how to avoid a collision. Good luck, it will either be an end or a start of a beautiful relationship.

 

[david1701]

thats what I'm gonna do on hers

 

[david1701]

No better place to start than the camel trail, although you might find a lot of numpties who are coming towards you and have no idea about how to avoid a collision. Good luck, it will either be an end or a start of a beautiful relationship.

Thats far more organised than I was, I hadn't gotten much further than lets give it a go and I probably won't kill her trying

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

If you make sure she's got the basic safety's for trail she should gain confidence fast...
Always cover the brakes
Front brake first, supplemented by the rear
Brake before a turn, not during
Look where you want to come out of a turn/bend, not where you might come a cropper and you shouldn't overshoot.
Swing low and ass back over the saddle on any short sharp drops
Anticipate what gear you'll need

 

[david1701]

gear? I've sorted out a helmet for her and that she should wear jeans to protect her legs

Cheers for the other advice, its not mountain bikey terrain or anything so I think she should be alright, I'm working on the basis of brake before a turn and keep everything smooth

 

[Fab Foodie]

My advice would be ....

Not to wear jeans, they're the most uncomfortable things to wear on a bike, regular shorts or joggers would be fine.

Not to wear a helmet, they're uncomfortable and can be slightly disorientating, far better somewhere like the Camel trail to let the wind blow through her hair and enjoy the simple freedom that cycling should be.

Take yer time, stop when she wants to stop and ride at her pace..

 

[david1701]

I'm with you on both counts, but for this particular time I think she's probably gonna fall off at some point. So the protection or at least the feeling of protection will be more important. Willing to be swayed on both counts though.

 

[boydj]

gear? I've sorted out a helmet for her and that she should wear jeans to protect her legs

Protect her legs from what? Jeans are more likely to chafe. Light tracksuit bottoms would be better - but make sure there's no flapping legs to get caught in chains.

Before you set off, go over a basic bike check to make sure everything is working and done up tight. This will help her understand how things work. A little bit of time in a quiet, flat area to let her get used to starting, stopping and changing gear would be a good idea before heading off. Think / talk about how you are going to communicate on the ride and how you are going to ride - side by side or front and back. how will you deal with somebody coming the other way, passing pedestrians etc, how far you are going to go (or for how long.

Take it easy and enjoy, and hopefully she'll want to do it again.

 

[david1701]

protect them from bouncing on gravel. Jeans aren't that bad to ride in I do a lot of less than 10 miles stuff in my levis. I have a feeling its jeans or a skirt and the jeans are partially a confidence thing on her part.

Good shout on the bike check, not rented a bike before Aye I think a little bit of practice before we head off would be sensible.

Definitely practice gear changing, my sis finds that problematic even now. I think we're going to head off for a few miles till we find somewhere quiet, eat a picnic, be teenagery and ride back so all should be shiny

 

[festival]

Assuming you know your stuff, don't over do the advice, keep it simple and let he find her level.
You may think she needs your help, better to let her do her thing and bite your tongue 50% of the time.
If it becomes a regular thing she will come to you for advice, don't push it

 

[david1701]

Thats a very good point, stick to KISS otherwise you'll just cause an argument/stress/ruin the fun of it. K noted