On to Two 🚲
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By the time I completed my century on the tricycle, the strange, wobbly feeling inside of my head was much reduced; and I now began to wish that I could switch to two wheels.
I had become very interested in long-distance cycling; and a BI-cycle would make long rides faster and easier. But at that time, the thought of being on two wheels was scary. Even so, In May 2012 I rented a bicycle for a day and gave it a try. Of course I didn’t do well; but the experience was good enough that I decided to buy a hybrid bike.
Choosing Two Wheels 🤔
I had several reasons for choosing a hybrid. One, it would be more stable than a road bike. I was already a bit nervous about the switch to two wheels; and I didn’t need a “nervous” bicycle into the bargain! Two, a hybrid costs far less than a road bike. If it turned out that I couldn’t adapt to a two-wheeler, I wouldn’t be out of several thousand bucks.
And, a hybrid could be outfitted with fenders and a rack, once I got the hang of riding it. Then I could bring home the groceries by bicycle!
Now, how was I going to make the switch to two wheels? I searched online for advice on learning to ride a bicycle; and found an article which states that training wheels for a child are a bad idea. Glide (or balance) biking was recommend instead. So I decided to have the hybrid’s pedals temporarily removed, and start with glide biking.
Wait a minute! Glide biking, like I were a little kid? I made up my mind that I wouldn’t let myself feel silly doing it. Although stabilizers for adult riders are available, using one would have made me feel sillier than glide biking might have! So, I thought outside of the box and practiced glide biking.
Starting Over 🎬
Learning to mange that hybrid really was starting over from scratch. Glide biking actually felt quite awkward. But I kept at it; and after about two weeks of glide-biking, I had the pedals replaced. I didn’t really feel ready; but something told me that, if I did wait until I felt “ready”, I might never do it!
Over the next few months I went through the trials and travails of adjusting to two wheels. If you’re new to two wheels, please see my YouTube, in which I do my best to explain how you can get going. If I may say so, I wish I’d had something like this when I first started on two wheels. I think it would have done me more good than glide-biking.
I had to learn how to start up without losing control; and also how to get started without snagging the back of my cycling shorts on the nose of the saddle. There was also the matter of stopping. Once I had the saddle raised to full height, I couldn’t stop by putting one foot down to the side. There was too far to go; and the bicycle would threaten to push me down. The trick is: get one foot ready to put down; rise off the saddle; brake; and step forward and down.
Grandiose Ideas 🤩
Although the hybrid weighed some 15 pounds less than the trike, it took longer than I had hoped to develop some speed. Two wheels are very different from three wheels! It’s scary to feel like you’re going to lose control as soon as you try to ride a bit faster. It sounds counterintuitive; but I eventually learned that it’s actually easier to keep control when you’ve got some speed going. That’s the gyroscopic effect.
Fairly soon, I had toe clips added to the hybrid’s pedals — the strapless variety. I didn’t want to have to reach for my feet to tighten straps while rolling on two wheels. Toe clips let me pedal more efficiently; but still without my feet being fastened to the pedals (another scary idea). This helped to increase my speed a little.
Of course it wasn’t long before I developed grandiose ideas; and began to think of doing a two-wheeled century. If I could do it on that big old tricycle, it should be much easier on two wheels!