Just leaving the house this morning, I overtook a cyclist a few yards up the road....... and he wasn't on the pavement !
No, that wasn't the different bit, this one was negotiating our speedbumps and holes
with no grip on the handlebars, but using his hands to hold open a tabloid newspaper, reading it as he pedalled !
Skilled or what ?
Look, Mum, no hands !.....Look, Mum, no teeth !
Ted
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:24
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I trust you didn't pip your horn when just coming up behind him, Ted.....
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:27
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I'm envious - I've been cycling regularly for 40 years and have never been able to cycle with no hands (probably because I'm too chicken to try it). If I could catch up on my reading on the ride into work, think of the time it would save!
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:27
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No hands is easier on some bikes than others due to the front end geometry.
A bike that tends to turn in sharpish will be harder to ride with no input to the handlebars.
I had a racing bike as a child that was rock steady to the point where I could almost do U-turns no handed.
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:27
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No hands is easier on some bikes than others due to the front end geometry.>>
Thanks for that comment, iih.
Back in the early 60s, I could ride my BSA StarRider no-handed for miles - round bends, over fields - the lot! My current bike is a Dawes EasyStreet - I think it's described as a 'hybrid' - but the steering feels very twitchy and it's not easy to ride no-handed. I wasn't sure whether the difference was due to front-end geometry or my advancing years - so, thanks for that reassurance!
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When I was a paperboy it was seen as essential among one's peer group to be able to complete your round more or less permanently "no hands". An additional skill was when favoured with an open front door to sling the newspaper accurately on to the doormat without breaking pace. Of course the training often involved some discomfort.......
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:26
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Friend of mine was a paperboy.
A group of us used to go to his house early on Sunday morning to read the football reports before he set off on his round.
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:25
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I can remove a rainjacket while riding, fold it and put it in a back pocket.
During a Tour de France stage last week the cameras followed a rider who unzipped his jersey, pulled his arms through the sleeves and took of his undervest while bowling along at 25mph. Class.
On the same theme, a friend who used to be a traffic cop said that when he was doing his motorcycle training one of the exercises was to remove a jacket while riding along at low speed on a fully kitted out patrol bike.
And you car drivers can't even hold a phone without swerving all over the road. Huh!
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:26
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On the same theme a friend who used to be a traffic cop said that when he was doing his motorcycle training one of the exercises was to remove a jacket while riding along at low speed on a fully kitted out patrol bike.
One of our exercises when I was a young biker was to ride a Matchless 350 standing on the seat. The piece de resistance was to ride it sitting facing backwards. The big knob in the centre of the handlebars (steering damper) was very useful for such stunts.
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when i did my collection rounds on my bike i always had a little mw radio taped on the handlebars listening to radio 1 and hits like geordie coming out of the 2 inch peak power loudspeaker at 350mw pmp,the only problem was there was centain roads that the angle of the ferrite rod was wrong so reception was poor, so i did these roads as quick as i could,
this is where my flying bomb batteries affections come from as i always had a stock of pp9 batteries and also my interest in electrics as i was always sticking a non magnetised screwdriver in the ferrite pots to try and eke out some more volume too
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:26
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I tried "no handed" on a pushbike for the first time since childhood the other day and was astonished to find I could still do it. Didn't have the guts to try turning as I used to though. :-)
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:25
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I tried "no handed" on a pushbike for the first time since childhood the other day and was astonished to find I could still do it.
The trick is to sit bolt upright with a straight back and avoid looking down at the front of the bike, keep your gaze well ahead. To turn left, look left and the bike will follow your eyeline. People who have trouble riding no hands (bicycle or motorcycle) do so because they tentatively let go of the bars but keep their weight forward, which unbalances the bike as their hands hover a few inches above the bars ready to snatch at them in a panic.
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:25
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But always aware that natural selection acts rather swiftly at times like these. ;-)
Edited by Honestjohn on 18/07/2009 at 15:25
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Try riding a bike with your arms crossed - left hand on right handlebar.
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Oh cheers BT.................. Just did. Having a whisky now for the pain......
:-(
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People who have trouble riding no hands (bicycle or motorcycle) do so because they tentatively let go of the bars but keep their weight forward which unbalances the bike as their hands hover a few inches above the bars ready to snatch at them in a panic.
That's me to a "T" except for "inches" read "millimetres". Also been riding for 40 years, like Focus (not continuously). Can't pedal standing up either. God made handlebars for a jolly good reason.
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It's true though that hands-free riders are very relaxed, often zigzagging quite markedly with their hands hanging loosely by their sides. I could do it a bit when a boy, but not to any impressive extent.
I've seen people do things on bikes and motor bikes that really made my jaw drop. Some people are really functioning on another level.
I saw the local gang of stunt-bike nippers, who do wheelies down the wrong side of my busyish main road, having a meeting, with their mountain bikes, on the next corner the other night when I went to the shop and back. Plotting intensively, all concentrating on some debate or detailed plan.
Average age about 10 or 12, no one over 15, down to eight or so I would say. About a dozen of them. All but one or two black. I wonder what they were going to do? I've seen them in action and I think they're fabulous. Ought to be on TV.
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I used to ride no handed and steer with my body without trouble. But I can't do it on my hybrid. It must be something to do with the centre of gravity, seating position, and steering.
BTW the cyclist referred to in the OP is a fool.
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BTW the cyclist referred to in the OP is a fool.
Could have been Gordon or Alastair then?
Morning Darling!!....M
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The real reason for riding for no-handed is to keep your hands warm in your pockets during the winter months.
It also ensures grief if anything goes wrong as you can't get to the bars quickly to apply the brakes..
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Like this? www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4P3yp6mFfY
Cheat - he's using the handlebars :-)
Absolutely amazing.
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This guy really shouldn't have let go of the bars -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar1pmFyGQAg
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