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JHOLLNAGEL
Posts: 1,768 8/3/12 4:15 P
Another way to practice is to use the white line on the road. Ride it and then reach down for your water bottle now look where you are from the white line .... did you veer keep practising if you did. Down do the same and look down to wipe debry from your rear tire did you veer?
Another way I have seen people do this is to slide of the saddle at a 90 degree angle and look.
Some look over ther shoulder and others look back through their arm pits .... practice on the white line and see what method works for you.
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DDOORN
Posts: 21,040 7/29/12 11:34 A
How cool to have such a paved trail so close to home!
Don
Co-Team Leader for All Health Pros, Binghamton Area Losers & Laid Off But Staying Strong SparkTeams
Don't die with your music still in you. -- Dr. Wayne Dyer
"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." --- Carlos Castaneda
"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." --- Buddha
So far I don't veer but I've been nervous about it. I only live a few blocks from a 21 mile paved trail and I've only ridden the road long enough to get there. Plus if I veered I'd be in bushes or down a hill lol. I would like to branch out to roads but feel nervous, I live in a logging area with semi trucks. Anyhow a mirror sounds great, I need one of those!
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KJEANNE
SparkPoints: (29,867)
Fitness Minutes: (21,758) Posts: 1,860 7/27/12 10:32 P
I wear a rear view mirror because I ride a recumbent trike - You can't look over your shoulder when you ride a recumbent. But when I rode a road bike I didn't wear a mirror. To me the key to NOT veering when you look over your shoulder is to take your right hand off your handlebar BEFORE you look over your shoulder. Use your left hand to steer your bike forward as you look over your left shoulder.
Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped. African proverb
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PERRYR
Posts: 653 7/27/12 7:51 A
Mirror attached to my sunglasses - Much safer. You'll notice when a car is approaching compared to the shock of looking over your shoulder to find a car right there.
DRAGONCHILDE
SparkPoints: (43,214)
Fitness Minutes: (12,716) Posts: 8,267 7/26/12 10:39 P
Honestly, I cheat. I have a mirror. I do need to practice the actual skill, though!
Heather Writer, mother, wife, and breadwinner. I love to run, but running doesn't love me, so I'm switching to my low-impact bike.
SparkPoints: (33,872)
Fitness Minutes: (40,393) Posts: 5,522 7/26/12 6:08 P
My tri coach used to go group training for swimming, cycling and running, and I joined all of her groups. This is one skill that she made sure to teach us, and we started learning it in a parking lot. I am still not 100% able to do it, mostly because I simply don't ride enough, but when I do ride I practice it on quiet roads.
-Carolyn
"God gave you your body as a gift, so you should take care of it." - My Mom
DDOORN
Posts: 21,040 7/26/12 12:28 P
I'm a big fan of the Take-A-Look mirror, inexpensive, durable and I'd much rather a mirror on my helmet which is easily navigable as opposed to a fixed mirror on my bike. I caught onto this from the wide use of this mirror among my bike club members.
Don
Co-Team Leader for All Health Pros, Binghamton Area Losers & Laid Off But Staying Strong SparkTeams
Don't die with your music still in you. -- Dr. Wayne Dyer
"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same." --- Carlos Castaneda
"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." --- Buddha
SparkPoints: (29,867)
Fitness Minutes: (21,758) Posts: 1,860 7/26/12 12:15 P
That's a great post. The important part is to practice looking over your shoulder without veering in a safe place: a parking lot is good. You'll form the muscle memory so when you are riding in traffic it become second nature.
Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped. African proverb
current weight: 193.4
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BLUE3505
SparkPoints: (2,580)
Fitness Minutes: (6,595) Posts: 101 7/26/12 11:11 A
Good advice. The only wreck I've had was when I needed to change lanes upon approaching an intersection. When I looked over my shoulder to check for traffic, I drifted over, dropped off the edge of the asphalt and wrecked when I tried to hop the bike back up onto the road. Live and learn.
kojak6719@yahoo.com
DDOORN
Posts: 21,040 7/26/12 9:00 A
Interesting post here...never saw anyone speak to this before with tips:
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