Look Ma! No … CRASH!!

Oh, please, DO be very careful about riding no-hands. It appears to be so easy. And so much fun. How many kids try it, then, only to end up like this poor teddy bear?

I\’ve been hesitant to blog about riding a bicycle no-handed. I can\’t offer any advice from personal experience, as I\’m unable to ride without my hands on those bars.

About a month ago I changed my position on my road bike\’s saddle, so that I was sitting several inches farther back than I had been. The new \”sit spot\” changed everything else: reach, steering, pedaling.

Long story short, I wound up with a new saddle; and I\’ve been working at being sure that I\’m sitting where my sit bones are supported. That leaves me with more saddle nose to work with, in case I do decide to give no-hands a go. As mentioned in Get Fast! (p. 24), \”You ultimately steer your bike with your hips.\” I guess having that saddle nose would help.

But back to the \”look-Ma-no-hands\” business. First step, watch some videos on the subject. Here we are told that riding no-handed isn\’t that difficult. Maybe it doesn\’t seem so hard once you\’ve learned — just as plain old riding doesn\’t seem hard after your body figures it out. Learning, however, takes time and patience.

I\’ve seen cyclists riding along no-handed, with their arms dangling at their sides. That looks terribly risky to me. What\’ll they do if they suddenly need their hands on those handlebars?

Will I ever be a no-hands rider? Only time will tell, but there\’s no hurry. I don\’t want to end up like that teddy bear.