I did yoga at my gym last night. As usual, I felt strong and secure during 95% of the balancing poses, enough so that I could find a place of peace and calm during the poses.
So, if I'm so good at balancing, why have I always had balancing problems on a bike?
As my hubby Rick points out, there is the movement and the weight of the bike to consider that isn't present in yoga. Agreed, there are far more variables at work on a bike than in yoga. Still, I believe there should be a certain amount of transferable skill and confidence at work here. I'm going to try to keep that in mind on my next ride ... yoga on a bike ... :)
About Me
- Hill
- I'm a complex creature passionately seeking simplicity. This ongoing search has led me to decisions such as vegetarianism, refamiliarizing myself with riding a bike, purchasing a bike to increase commuting possibilities, and moving to a part of town that is friendlier for bike commuting and alternative forms of transportation (although the move is still in the planning stages). Fortunately, I have a great husband whose priorities largely match mine and who accepts those priorities that are not on his list. I have created this blog as a sounding board for the many thoughts I have, mainly centered around biking as a safe, healthy, humble yet powerful aspect of a simple life in the modern Western world. My ponderings tend to center on questions like how can we make biking safer? How can we get more people biking? Why do people not bike? What are motorists' perceptions of bikers, (and vice versa) and how does that affect safety for everyone? How can perceptions be changed? What can I, one single passionate person, do to make people realize the modern Western stuck-in-a-rut way of life is not really life?
Trouble balancing on a bike? Did you ride much as a child?
ReplyDeleteI guess if you ride more, it'll become natural.
Not a lot. I think my training wheels came off when I was nine or so. My mom had to make me learn to ride a bicycle. I have scoliosis plus leg length discrepancy, and I think that screwed things up as a kid. I agree, the more time I spend on the bike, the more comfortable and natural it will feel.
ReplyDeleteHey Hill, thanks for your interest in our RCCS ride. In looking at your bike experience, I'm thinking that the cobble/brick ride wouldn't be the best idea b/c we're going to be confronted with some dicey terrain and an all-round arduous day BUT I also want to encourage you to take a look at a future ride. We'll hopefully do one about once a month. You can already do 18, which is great, so I bet the next one up will be a bit less radical and a bit more reasonable. Just a thought and you're welcome to any we put on. I just wanted to be straight with what to expect.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the honesty! Chances are I'll be doing my first spin class ever on Saturday, so I was questioning if I would even have the energy for the Sunday ride anyway. Count me in on the next ride that doesn't include obstacle courses. :)
ReplyDeleteHill,
ReplyDeleteOn your balance issue: Keep in mind that the bike is balanced with the handlebars and steered by leaning your body weight. This is contrary to what some would consider "conventional wisdom." If you think about it some, it will make sense. Most of us have a minimum comfortable speed that is above two or three miles an hour, and at that speed we can keep the bike under ourselves.