Train Your Bike with CyclingSavvy
I’ve met a lot of people who could have been saved anxiety and injury had they been taught a few simple skills when they first started riding.
Two-thirds of bicycle-related hospitalizations in Orlando do not involve cars. They are a result of the cyclist being unable to avoid an obstacle, maintain balance after evasive action or stop quickly without going over the handlebars.
Through a series of progressive handling drills, students learn slow-speed balance, efficient use of gears, turning, cornering and emergency maneuvers. “Experienced” cyclists break bad habits to become more proficient and novices gain a fast-track to bike-handling confidence an increased safety.
CyclingSavvy offers Train Your Bike as a stand-alone course or as part of the full package.
Learn more and sign-up here.
Photo: CommuteOrlando author and UCF Bike Bus driver, Kitzzy, trains her bike.
That’s rather shocking. The mind boggles at what would have to happen to be injured so seriously as to be hospitalized without being an automobile assault victim.
Are these mostly elderly people who finally develop balance issues and break their hip when they have a fall that would be nothing to a younger person?
I find it hard to think of any other scenario, unless they are doing stunt jumping.
People crash on trails all the time. They run into curbs, bollards, pavement defects, other trail users and animals… or they crash while trying to evade these things because they don’t have good bike handling skills. I know several people hospitalized with serious injuries from bollards. I know a woman who was found unconscious on the trail, no one knows what caused her to crash. I know another who hit a slick spot and crushed her helmet (probably would have been hospitalized if she hadn’t been wearing it). None of those people were elderly.
Railroad tracks, potholes, longitudinal cracks have all been known to put people in the hospital.
Too many people ride on the sidewalk. They crash into poles, guide wires, sidewalk upheavals or they crash trying to avoid a car that turns in front of them. It’s very common for people to slam on their brakes without knowing how to stop effectively and go over the handlebars.
I noticed they talk about “no knobby tires” but what if a mountain bike is all you have and how you get around?
If you ride mostly on the streets, it’s best to have slicks or town&country tires because knobby tires don’t handle well on asphalt. We don’t turn people away from the class if they have knobby tires. We just recommend that if you have a choice, bring a bike with street tires. We do advise caution in the high speed cornering maneuvers because a knobby tire can skid out on you where a slick won’t.
K-Mart sells inexpensive hybrid tires. They have shallow tread in the middle with some knobs on the sides. I think they are $10-15 each whereas the Conti and Schwalbe tires are a lot more. I think they are Kenda Brand. Kenda tires are also available at shops and on line for about the same price.
What ever tire you buy I recommend liners to keep from getting so many flats. Sadly, those can cost as much as a cheap tire — about $15 I think.
I use a pair of schwalbe big apple tires. They are 2″ wide slicks on my mtn bike conversion, faster then any knobbies, but still gives me cushioning for the wonderful brick streets if I keep the pressure down.
I’m using Conti town & country tires on my mtn bike. They’re good enough for some off-road, but work well on pavement.