Starting and Stopping

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Starting and Stopping
by Sheldon "Fast Off The Line" Brown

Do You Really Know How To Ride A Bicycle?
There is a tendency to think that once you get so that you can ride around the block without falling down, you've "mastered" riding a bicycle, and know all you need to know about basic riding technique. Like most skills, however, there are levels of mastery, and a cyclist who has learned and practiced good technique will be a safer, more effective cyclist.

Starting
Many experienced cyclists have never taken the time to learn the correct way to mount and dismount, and their bad habits put them at risk when they try to start up in traffic, or up hill.

One of the most basic skills of cycling is the ability to ride straight, without wobbling from side to side. It is not possible for most cyclists to do this until they reach a certain minimum speed, typically in the range of 5-8 miles per hour (8-13 kph). Learning correct starting technique will enable you to reach this critical maneuvering speed sooner, so you will spend less time with your bicycle under only partial control.

Some Wrong Ways:
The Cowboy Mount is popular among cyclists who learned to ride on a bicycle that was too large for them. Indeed, this is the only way to get started on a bike that is seriously too tall for the rider. This dubious technique involves standing next to the bike, putting one foot on a pedal, then swinging the other leg over the saddle while the bicycle is in motion.

The Cowboy Mount places the rider's weight on the bicycle while it is leaning over at a sharp angle. This puts considerable lateral stress on the frame and the wheels. Bicycle wheels, in particular, are not designed to withstand serious sideways stresses, and this poor mounting technique is very hard on your wheels.

The Shuffle Mount, which involves standing on the low pedal, and trying to get the bike in motion by pushing off against the ground with the other foot...you can't get up to maneuvering speed quickly this way, and you can't get started uphill with this technique.

The Flying Leap is a less common, but equally poor technique, consising of running alongside the bicycle then jumping up onto the saddle. This is sometimes done by riders in a hurry, but it is dangerous and inelegant.

Correct Basic Starting Technique
Stand astride the frame, both feet on the ground. Most people get to this position by swinging a leg over the saddle, but if you have low handlebars, you can do it over the bars as well. If you have a "lady's" bike or other bike with a low frame, you may be able to lift your foot over the frame. It sometimes helps to lean the bike to the side before straddling it. Do not try to sit on the saddle while the bike is stopped, this is not usually possible if your saddle is properly adjusted.

Rotate the pedals so that the pedal for your less skillful foot is 45 degrees forward of straight up.

Put your foot on the high pedal, then press down hard. This will simultaneously:
* Let you use the pedal as a step to lift yourself high enough to get onto the saddle...and:
* Apply driving force to the chain, causing the bike to pick up speed.

Starting and stopping a bicycle are such fundamental operations - after learning to balance - that it's surprising that they are not taught routinely. Here, Theresa James, aged 13, demonstrates the preferred technique for starting and stopping.

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Video couresy of Martin Pion, Conservion

If you have not learned to do this, take the time to practice. It may sound difficult, but it isn't as hard as it sounds. Once you get used to it, it will become second nature. You will become a better, safer cyclist, because you will be able to bring your bicycle quickly up to a speed that allow you to ride without wobbling.

You may need to do a bit of experimenting to find the most suitable starting gear on your bike.

* Too low a gear will cause the pedal to descend to fast to give support as you step up.
* Too high a gear will not get the bike accelerating fast enough to reach balancing speed.

Stopping
Stopping is not so much of a challenge for most cyclists, but there are still some bad habits to lose and good habits to teach yourself.

Shift Down First
If your bike has derailer gears, it can only be shifted while in motion. It is very worthwhile to cultivate the habit of shifting into a fairly low gear as you glide to a stop, so that you will be in a suitable gear for starting up again. Usually, this will involve shifting the rear derailer onto the lowest (largest) sprocket, and the front onto the second largest chainwheel. Naturally, in an emergency, panic stop, you'll just stop, and not worry about the gear, but for normal, controlled stops, you can teach yourself to do this downshifting automatically.

When To Put Your Foot Down
Perhaps arising from a desire to assist the inadequate brakes with shoe leather, some cyclists have a tendency to put a foot down too soon, which may be painful.

When stopping, you need to rest your weight on one pedal, (which will necessarily be at the bottom of its range, if your bicycle is equipped with a freewheel.) Your other foot shouldn't touch the ground until the bicycle is pretty much stopped.

If you put you foot down while the bike is still moving along, here's what happens: You're already slowing down with the brakes, and the brakes are slowing the entire bike/rider unit. If you put a foot down and transfer your weight to it, the brake then only needs to slow the bicycle, which is much lighter than you. The amount of braking force that was slowing the bike and rider at a controllable rate will be sufficient to bring the bicycle alone to an abrupt halt. Meanwhile, your body's momentum keeps you in motion, until you whack a delicate part of your body on the handlebar stem of your suddenly stopped bicycle...ouch!

How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?
If you are one of the many cyclists, who, despite years of experience, has never overcome bad starting/stopping habits, it is not to late to improve your technique. These approaches may feel funny at first, but once you get used to them, you'll see how much better they work...Practice! Practice! Practice!